Dance of the Dragon
by celestia193
Summary: It's been two and a half years. And now, with battles against the Akatsuki looming and dark shadows moving behind the scenes, Ciara is caught between her battles at Naruto's side and fighting for Sasuke's justice. Her blood boils with ancient and forgotten power, power that some worship, and others would see stamped out. She has a target on her back. Cur Arc: Post-Five Kage Summit
1. We're Back!

**Welcome to the next installment, the sequel to Saved By Fire. Dance of the Dragon. I've been working hard now that I've got my character actually established, and now the real fun can start. This is going to be a long ride, but I'm hoping that you guys will like it. I'm also going to be adding extra chapters to the other story, just funny little things that I figure they would do while on the road with Jiraiya. I'm already working on five of those chapters, so stay tuned for those.**

 **Also, if you are here to flame me at all, the door is to your left.**

 **Okay, I figured that I'd start this story off with a lot of information that I purposefully neglected to put into the previous story (because handing out all the details too soon is no fun, it's like eating your whole Halloween stash in one night, getting sick, and not having any for later). This chapter is going to reveal a lot, as long as you know how to look for it (though I've been pretty explicit about the details, so I don't think much reading between the lines will be needed). I spent a long time fine-tuning the details, and I hope that you all like them. Oh, and a warning, this chapter has almost nothing at all to do with canon. Next chapter will start to dip back into it, but...a lot of extra stuff is going to go down this time around. I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

Today, there's a smile on my face. The last two and a half years have been…rough, to put it mildly. But it's the nostalgia at seeing home again that's really getting to me.

 _I wonder how much has changed?_

 _I wonder if they really won't recognize me…_

As we pass by a puddle on the ground, likely the result of the recent spring rains, I look at my reflection in the water. That's something I haven't done in a while.

 _Yeah…a lot has changed._

In the water, I see dark brown hair, the color of melted chocolate, braided around the crown of a pleasantly tanned face. And from that tanned face, two deep, emerald green eyes stare back out. The most astounding part of this transformation, is that now, I can almost stare Naruto right in the eyes. The pain was worth it after I shot up a whole foot in height. The changes to my hair and my eyes were just pleasant surprises.

If I didn't know better, I would say that I was starting at a female version of my father. Which would explain where all the height came from, he was not a short man. Not Jiraiya tall, but about six feet, at least, from what I remember of him. Of course, I'm eight inches under that, but still, at fifteen, that's pretty damn good if I do say so myself.

"Hey Ciara, what are you looking at?" The tall, lanky blond that I've grown up with turns around to raise a questioning eyebrow. "Whoa, when did you get so vain? You're staring at yourself more than Jiraiya's lady friends do."

I roll my eyes and leave the puddle behind. "Hey, it's not my fault that I'm still not…" I raise my arms and look at the now much longer limbs, then down to the curves that were most definitely not there when we left. "…used to this." I 'blossomed' about eight months ago, and everything just kinda filled in. Height, hips, bust, though that last part I could do with a little less. I mean, I'm not at Tsunade's level, thank the heavens, but…I definitely wouldn't want to grow that part of me any more.

Naruto had quite the growth spurt himself. He's still taller than me, of course, but just barely. Less than an inch. Which is weird, but then again, I suppose that asking Suzaku to help me speed through puberty by using chakra to overstimulate my hormones might have been cheating. But hey, I just didn't want to keep waiting until my body was fully mature, whenever that decided to happen. Having a tiny body did me no favors at all, so I took it upon myself to correct the issue. And it's had rather spectacular results.

Th pain, on the other hand, was horrendous. The body is not meant to grow so much in so little time. It's only thanks to Suzaku's healing abilities, and Some surprisingly effective massages from Naruto, that I managed to get through the worst of it.

I can see the gates ahead, and I shake a little as we get closer. "Naruto…I'm kinda scared."

"Of what?" He turns around, walking backwards so that we can see eye to eye. "It's just the Leaf. We haven't been home in ages."

"I know. It's just…what if everyone's changed? I mean…more than we expected." I know that people change over time, I just don't want to go home to a place I can hardly even recognize anymore. Then it wouldn't be home.

Naruto grins widely at me. "It'll be fine. I haven't changed that much, right? And I bet that Kakashi-Sensei is as perverted as ever. And Sakura is probably just as pretty as ever. And I bet Grandma Tsunade is hiding her age, like always. Kiba is definitely still hanging with that puppy of his, and Chouji is probably stuffing his face right now while Shikamaru lazes around looking at the clouds."

"Yeah, I guess that's all true." Naruto really does have a way of reassuring me when I feel uneasy or upset. "Well, looks like we're back." I look up at the gates, and Naruto laughs, turning back around as we walk back into the place we haven't seen in two and a half years. "Hey, do you two mind if I head off on my own? I've got a couple of people I want to track down."

"Yeah, yeah, go on." Jiraiya smirks at me. Something tells me that you're about to collect on a bet."

"You know it!" I dart off through the streets, heading for the building belonging to the Interrogation Division. If I'm going to find Akito, that's probably where he'll be.

Without bothering to knock, since honestly, it would serve Ibiki right for the hit he pulled during our Chunin Exams, I walk into the Interrogation Division and take a look around. It's rather empty right now, though I'm not entirely sure why.

Though it doesn't take long for me to track down Inoichi, Ino's father. "Hello, I'm looking for Akito Takara."

He looks up at me from his desk, where I'm pretty sure he's looking at some kind of case file for a high level interrogation, considering how quickly he shuts it. "And you are?"

I smirk widely. "Someone who plans on collecting on a bet I made with him and Hiro two and a half years ago. So tell me, where are my teammates?"

His eyes widen, and they flick over my features, before he breathes out slowly. "Ryouta…" Then, he coughs. "Sorry, uh, they're in the hospital, something about a training accident."

"Of course they are…" I shake my head wearily. "Without me to look after them, I should have known that this would happen." Those two always did like to get themselves into…accidents. "Thank you for your help, I'll be on my way now."

I step back outside, before shaking my head, and flickering to the hospital. There, I walk inside and straight to the front desk to see the nurse working there. She looks up at me and blinks. "Are you here to see someone?"

"Yes, I am. Could you please tell me what room Akito Takara and Hiro Kazaki are in? I heard that my two idiots got themselves into a bit of a mess." I'm going to have to wring it out of them later exactly what they pulled. But for now, I'll settle for visiting and berating them, and then collecting on that bet.

"Alright, name please?" She looks up at me expectantly.

I smirk slightly. "Ciara Shiryugu."

Her eyes bug out and her jaw drops. "You're back?"

"Apparently." I stifle the urge to laugh at her utter shock. "Just got back. So, tell me, where are my idiots?"

She quickly looks down at the room list. "Third floor, room three-four-two."

"Thank you." I wave back at her as I head for the stairs, climbing up to the third floor, and making sure to put my medical kit and tanto into my backpack, leaving it just outside the room in the hallway. After all, there's no need to give either of them any extra clues.

Stepping into the room, I notice that the two of them are bandaged fairly significantly, especially around the arms and shoulders. Despite that, though, the two of them are locked at the lips, and I fight the urge to roll my eyes. "Well, it looks like the two of you got banged up pretty good."

The two of them immediately break apart, and Akito hops back over to what I assume is his bed. "Sorry Ma'am, we were just…"

"Just having a little fun. Yes, I saw that." I raise an eyebrow at Hiro. "Now…do you mind telling me how this happened?"

He rubs the back of his head sheepishly with his non-bandaged arm. "Ah, well, you see, Akito and I were kinda training and he hit me with his lightning attack, and I hit him with my earth style, and…well, it got kinda messy from there."

"Yes…so I see." I sigh and shake my head. "Honestly. Boys are such a pain. Always getting themselves into trouble when it's really not necessary."

Akito smirks. "Well, we enjoy getting into trouble, always have."

"Yes…so I've gathered." It seems like the two of them haven't recognized me yet, which means that I win the bet. "What, no hugs?"

Hiro tilts his head kind of cutely, like a puppy. "Well, if a pretty nurse wants a hug, I'm not gonna say no."

This time, I do roll my eyes. "Hiro, if you're going to pretend to be straight, don't do it with your boyfriend in the room. Unless you've downgraded to friends with benefits, or upgraded somehow." They're sixteen, not legal to get married yet, but somehow, I doubt that kind of barrier would stop them for long.

Akito frowns, turning an analytical eye on me. "Do we know you?"

I smirk and walk up between there beds, before leaning down slightly and whacking them both in the head. "Yeah, you do, and now I know that I'm collecting on that little bet of ours, boys." Then, I smile softly t them as they rub their heads in confusion. "I missed you both so much…and I'm glad that you two haven't changed." I take a second look at them. "Well, you got bigger, but I guess that's only to be expected in two and a half years. After all…I got bigger too." I laugh at their shocked expressions. "Squad Twelve, forever, right?"

I half expect them to start shouting or jumping or something energetic. Instead, I end up pushed right into Akito's arms, with Hiro switching beds and squeezing from the opposite side. "Damn it, we missed you."

"Yeah…" Akito lifts his head up, then reaches for my almost elbow-length braid. "Your hair got a lot longer, and a lot darker too." He tugs on my hair, bringing my face closer to his as he observes my eyes. "Your eyes are darker too, but…they still have all that light in them, just like they always have. And you're so tall now!"

"Well…you didn't expect me to stay a small little ugly duckling forever, did you?" I know that I wasn't the cutest kid, but…I'm hoping that puberty helped to wipe away all the awkwardness from when I was little. "I had a little help from my feathered friend, but…this is what puberty did to me. I told you that's all I needed."

Hiro chuckles behind me. "No kidding. Damn, talk about the ugly duckling turning into a swan story. If I actually liked girls, I would definitely hit on you."

"Right." These two and their antics… "Anyway, I do believe that neither of you had any clue who I was when I walked through that door. Which means that I win our little bet."

Hiro pinches my cheek at that remark. "Hey, we weren't expecting you to change this much! Maybe get like half a foot taller, and fill out a bit but…" He backs off a bit, and I turn to see him with a rather sad smile on his face. "Our little teammate is all grown up now. It's weird."

"Jeez…" I reach up and ruffle his brown hair. "If you really want to see how much I've changed, then you've going to have to watch me fight. There will be a few things you recognize, but I promise that a lot has changed. I'm not the little girl who left here two and a half years ago." _I'm a dragon, and I'm going to let them all hear me roar._

Well, as soon as I figure out how to do that damn technique.

"In that case…" Akito's gray eyes sparkle a little at me. "I guess it's time to make good on that bet. After all, you can't be the only one on our team still a chunin."

My mouth nearly drops open. "What!? I mean, I expected Akito, but you too, Hiro!?"

"Ouch…" He winces comically. "That hurts. Why did you think I wouldn't make jounin?"

I turn to look at him with a blank gaze. "Do you really want me to answer that question?" That earns me a slight elbow to the ribs. "Okay, okay, fine, you're a jounin, awesome."

"Thank you." Hiro holds out his injured arm for me and grins. "Do you still have that healing touch of yours? Cause I think we could both use it before we head off to talk to some people."

"No doubt…" I shake my head, smiling wryly as pure white chakra emanates from my hands. I've gotten better at using my own chakra for medical ninjutsu over the past couple of years, so much so that Suzaku no longer needs to help me. And that's why it no longer turns the golden color it used to. I pass my hands over his arm, feeling the tears and sprains. "Jeez, you really messed yourself up, didn't you? I mean, it's nothing I can't handle, but still…" To be honest, after the incident with Naruto going four-tails on Jiraiya, there's not much I can't handle in terms of injuries. As long as there's no dismemberment involved, I should be able to handle just about anything. I had to with Naruto, after all.

"Yeah, I guess." A minute later, he pulls his arm back and flexes it, removing the bandages to inspect it. "Wow, it's perfect!" He pats me on the head again, which I think is supposed to tease him about still being a couple of inches taller than me. "Looks like you picked up a few new tricks."

"Of course I did." I turn my healing hands onto Akito next, letting the glow envelop his arm, as well as his shoulder, and some of his torso. "Naruto gets into more accidents than the two of you, so I had to learn fast how to treat serious injuries. Our training wasn't…easy, to put it mildly." And considering that it absolutely wrecked our old clothes, that much should be clear.

Now that I'm complaining now. After all, I would have seriously grown out of my old stuff. Which is why I'm perfectly happy with the open-backed crimson halter top with its detachable blue sleeves, my new royal blue capri, and the matching boots with a little surprise embedded into the bottoms.

After a couple of minutes of tending to Akito, his condition seems to have improved greatly. He removes his bandages, flexing the muscles of his arm and shoulder carefully. "Well, it feels like everything is moving the way it should be." He reaches for his shirt, pulling it back on. "Alright, as promised, I'm going to go talk to Ibiki. I'm pretty sure that we can have something set up by tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" That's awfully fast. "Well, if you think so, alright. But don't rush on my account."

Akito pushes back the sheets of his bed, getting t his feet and putting his sandals back on. "Nah, it's no trouble. Besides, Hiro and I were planning on it anyway, even if we won the bet."

Of course they were…that sounds like just the thing that Hiro and Akito would do. "Alright, fine, set it up." Then, I smirk. "But know this, if anyone tries to fight me, I'm not going to lose. I have a few tricks up my sleeve that you've never even seen me whip out before."

"We wouldn't expect anything less." Akito pulls me off the bed, then nods to Hiro. "Get ready, we're going out."

Hiro scrambles to get his clothes and shoes back on, and I fidget a little. "Do you think that the others will recognize me at all? I know that I look really different now."

He laughs and gives me a soft hug. "Probably not, though Hinata and Neji might. After all, your chakra's still the same. Everyone else is going to be so surprised, though."

"How about we get everyone together then?" Hiro pulls on his second shoe. "Team Gai is out of the village right now, but our whole class is here right now. Everyone's got a break between missions, so we should all get together for lunch tomorrow."

"That sounds like a great idea." Akito grins. "This means that Naruto is back as well, which means we're all together again. This deserves a bit of a celebration."

"Yeah…all back together." _Except for Sasuke…_ This is far from the first time that his image has flickered across my mind. And every time, I worry about him. I do not trust Orochimaru to take care of him, even if he does just want to steal Sasuke's body. So, I often find myself worrying over his health, even though I haven't seen him in years.

Akito tugs on my braid. "Hey, don't make that face. Today is a happy day. We an think about the serious stuff later."

I blink, then smile. "Right. Now, I think that the two of you have some people to go see, and I have an uncle and cousin to drop in on." I'd been planning on visiting Konohamaru and his dad, but my teammates were the top of my priority list.

"Alright, then let's go!" Hiro races to the window, opening it, and jumping right out. And why does that not surprise me?

"Come on." Akito tugs me towards the window, before jumping out of it, himself.

Rolling my eyes, I follow after them as we race across the rooftops, and they wave goodbye to me as we split up, them each heading to talk to their superiors, and me to talk to Konohamaru.

* * *

I should have known that the kid would be easy to find. The brat takes after Naruto so much that he's off causing a ruckus. And he's still got those two accomplices of his. And from the looks of it…they're genin now.

So, I drop in almost literally on top of them while their sensei is lecturing them. "Hey kids, long time no see."

Konohamaru's attention immediately shoots to me. "Big Cousin!" And it's less than a second before I have the kid's arms wrapped around my waist. Then, he looks up at me with big eyes. "You got…really tall. Just like the boss!"

"Yeah, I did." I try not to laugh at the observation. "I guess that means you've seen Naruto, then?"

He nods. "Yeah, I even showed him my Sexy Jutsu!"

And…the palm goes to the face. "Of course you did…" Shaking that of, I look down and smile. "So, did you guys take care of my stuff like you promised?"

He nods quickly, his expression becoming even brighter. "Yeah, we did! And Dad said that he and some of my cousins from the Sarutobi Clan even went to your house to clean it up! He said that little apartment was too small for you, and that you should get your house back. And then, they went up to that mountain with the dragon temple on it, you know, that one that we're not allowed to go to up on Mount Tenryuu?"

"Temple?" That sounds strange. I've never heard of a temple up there before. "Are…you sure that it's a temple?"

He nods vigorously. "Yeah, it's like those old stories we heard when we were kids, about the dragons who lived there and protected the country from invaders!"

 _Okay…this is sounding a little familiar, but…_ I look to his sensei. "Do you mind if I borrow the kids for a bit? I can get them out of your hair for a little while, so you should go and get yourself something to eat."

Their sensei, Ebisu, I think his name was, glares slightly at me. Then, he pushes his glasses up and sniffs. "Very well, I will take the chance to fetch myself some dinner. Be careful with those three, they cause a lot of trouble."

"I will, don't worry." I have more than enough confidence that I can handle my little cousin. "So…" I look down at the three of them. "Why don't we go somewhere, and you can tell me all about these stories you heard?"

"Alright!" Konohamaru doesn't even wait for me to suggest a place, he just drags me off towards the ramen shop for a bite to eat. _Looks like I'm treating._

As we walk in, Teuchi nods to us with a smile. "Welcome. I haven't seen you around here before. Is it your first time?"

I hold back a snicker and shake my head. "No, it's not. But the last time I had your ramen was when I was sitting in here with Iruka and Naruto, back right before we left."

Click…click…click…then the light-bulb seems to glow. "Ciara!?" I smile in response. "Well, now, it's good to see you back. You've sure grown up!"

"Yes, I have." I sit in the seat I always seem to take, Konohamaru on one side of me, his friends on the other. "So what stories did you want to tell me, Konohamaru?"

His eyes light up as he places his order, before turning to me while waiting for his food. "Okay, so I heard this one story when I was little that ever since a really long time ago, way before the founding of the village, that dragons used to live on that mountain just outside the village, and that's why it's called Mount Tenryuu. And Dad told me that those dragons that lived up there married some human women, and the women had babies that could turn into dragons!"

 _That's…eerily accurate._ "And your Dad told you that story?" _He must have heard it from my aunt._

Konohamaru nods. "Yeah, it's a bedtime story from when I was little. But after hearing about that big building with the dragon statues in it, I remembered it and asked Dad to tell it to me again. A bunch of the kids we went to the academy with know the story as well."

"It's not a bedtime story…" I had no idea that somehow, it had turned into a story to tell kids, but I suppose that I should correct a few things. "It's a legend…much, much older than the Leaf Village, or any of the Five Great Nations."

Moegi's eyes light up and it's like she's throwing sparkles at me. "You know it too!?"

I nod. "Yes…it was something my parents told me too…a very long time ago." Ten years ago…and for the five years before that. "Do you want to hear the original version?"

Konohamaru frowns. "Original version? What do you mean the original version. Shouldn't that be like, in a book or something?"

"No, it's not. At least…I don't think it is." Really, it's written on the walls of the 'temple' that Konohamaru is talking about. "So is that a yes, then?"

The three of them look at me, eyes wide as their noodles arrive.

"Alright, then…" I take a deep breath and close my eyes. "It began thousands of years ago, when spirits and creatures of all kinds still walked the earth, swam the oceans, and flew through the skies. Humans were only one of many creatures, and not all that powerful. Long before the first shinobi ever walked the earth, these creatures ruled the world. Some benevolent, some not. And while some of them were content to kill and eat humans, there were some who protected them instead. In this land that we call the Land of Fire, the dragons reigned supreme, protecting everything within the borders of their realm."

The whole shop goes quiet, even Teuchi and Ayame seem to be listening in on the story.

"When wars raged, and the creatures began to kill one another, the dragons banded together to protect their race. Many were killed in the fighting, but eventually, peace was restored. Although, by the end of the fighting, many of those creatures that humans once called gods had been wiped out. Those that remained retreated from the world, secluding themselves in safe places far away from one another. Except…for the four dragons who remained. They settled on a mountain overlooking a valley. In that valley was a settlement of humans. Lonely, these four dragons took on human form for a little while, just a human lifetime. And in that time, they ventured out into the human settlement over and over, curious about the lives of these mortals who would not live as long as they would."

There's a quiet slurping of noodles, but no other noise. Kids are so easily transfixed by stories.

"In the settlement, these four dragons found that they had been enchanted by the kindness and beauty of four women, four sisters who were as different as could be. The first had eyes the color of the sky, and hair as bright as sunlight. The second had cherry-red hair, and a golden gaze that pierced any who looked upon her. The third had hair as black as a raven's feathers, with a silvery gaze that put storm clouds to shame. The fourth had a gaze of emerald green, her eye glittering like jewels under hair of ebony. Each dragon was transfixed by a single woman, and with sweet words and promises whisked them all away to the mountain they called their home."

"Then what happened?" Moegi tugs gently on my sleeve.

I smile at her. _She must be a romantic._ "They were happy for many years, and eventually, the dragons revealed themselves to their lovers. But rather than fear in their gazes, the eyes of their women held only love. It was then that they married, their wives bearing them many many children. And like their fathers, these children were born with the ability to take on the form of either a dragon or a human. These children grew up to be strong and kind, and they too took lovers, husbands, and wives from the various human settlements that began to appear across the land. And after taking in life-mates for nearly six generations, the now large family of dragons, and their many descendants secluded themselves on the mountain they had long since called their home, and vowed to watch over and protect the land from their palace there. And ever since, the descendants of those dragons have lived on Mount Tenryuu, watching over the people of the Land of Fire, aiding in their battles, but preferring to encourage peace over war. Eventually, they faded into legend, content to do so, until they were no more." I take a deep breath as I conclude the story, and then sit silently and wait.

Konohamaru's mouth hangs wide open. "That's…way longer than the story I heard. And it's…" He picks at the few noodles left in his bowl. "It's kinda sad…"

"I suppose it is…" I look up to see Teuchi handing me a bowl of my own. "Thank you."

"No problem." He stands back to let me eat it in peace. And the ramen in this place is as good as ever. I personally prefer barbecue myself, and peaches above all else, but…ramen is nice too. I just can't stomach as much of it as Naruto can.

Udon shifts in his seat, before reaching around Moegi to poke me. "Um…excuse me, but…do you know what happened to the dragons?"

I stop eating and raise an eyebrow. "Well, later parts of the legend say that the four dragons decided to give up their eternal youth and burned their bodies when their lovers died, that way, they would die together."

Udon shakes his head. "No, I mean…the dragons who came later. You said that they still lived on the mountain. So…where are they?"

I put down my chopsticks, feeling very cold and sad inside. "They…were caught up in a battle…" If you can call a bunch of assassins sneaking around in the middle of the night a battle. "After thousands of years of breeding with humans, very few of the dragons' descendants still had the ability to become dragons. Until eventually there were only a few dragons left. And those who remained…died." Then, I shake my head, trying to clear it as I pick my chopsticks back up. "Anyway, that's how the story goes. It's not the happiest story by the end, but there's plenty of other stories associated with the dragons. So I'm sure that you can find plenty of legends about their adventures."

"Okay!" Konohamaru brightens up immediately, and his energy is contagious, infecting both of his friends. "We'll look in some old books for some stories, and next time, I'll tell you some too, okay!?"

I finish off my bowl and smile at my little cousin. "That sounds great. Now, why don't you three go find your sensei, and I'll go talk to my uncle, alright? This round is on me."

Konohamaru grins. "Okay! See-ya later Big Cousin!" He leaps off his seat, his long blue scarf flying in the wind as he takes off, followed by his two friends.

Leaving money for Teuchi, I say my goodbyes and leave the restaurant. And I suppose that I should have expected it, that talking about him would summon Hajime Sarutobi. "Hello, Uncle."

"Hello, Lady Ciara." He smiles gently at me. "I see that you told Konohamaru the family legend."

"Seems like I wasn't the only one." I glare pointedly at him. "Thought that I should at least give him the right version." Then, I cross my arms. "So, what's this I hear about a temple with dragon statues in it, and my house getting cleaned up?"

Surprisingly, he offers me a short bow. "While you were away, and attention was away from you, I brought a few of my clansmen to your estate to do some work on it. All of the buildings are intact, but…there was quite a bit of cleanup to do in terms of the grounds, and the floors."

Because no one has cut the grass in ages, and there was blood all over the grass and floors. "I see…" Still, I'm a little wary. "Is it livable?"

He nods. "If you like, you may move back in there. It would be more comfortable than that apartment of yours. I have also taken the liberty of consolidating your clan's funds into a single account for you. It is…not insignificant."

I would imagine not, since even the most distant branch families were at the very least comfortable. Money had never been an issue for any member of the Shiryugu Clan. Especially not, seeing as the entire estate is situated directly over a huge deposit of gold that provided the startup for a vast fortune. "I see, thank you." I don't know what I'll do with that much money, but…it's not like I'm going to retire, just because I can. I would get bored.

And besides…I have people to protect. And there's always a certain someone to rescue.

Uncle Hajime pats me on the shoulder. "Are you ready to go home?"

Home…where all of my fondest memories are, as well as my worst. But it is the place that my family has been forever. It's the place I know I belong, no matter what happened there. It is where I was born, and where my family is, even if they're not physically with me anymore.

With a wistful smile, I nod. "Yeah, I'm ready."

I hear almost what sounds like a sigh of relief. "Very well, then I'll bring by your things later. First, I'll inform Lady Hokage that the Shiryugu princess is returning home."

 _Shiryugu princess, huh? It's been a very long time since anyone has sincerely called me that._ Proper or not, it never really felt right to refer to myself that way. It kind of reminds me of Neji, who insists on addressing Hinata as Lady because of her status as the Hyuga Clan's princess.

Slowly, I look up above the buildings, towards a mountain that looks like it's towering over the village. It's not right next to the wall or anything, it's just that large. _Well, it's now or never…_

 _Time to finally go home._


	2. Jounin

**Alright, and now we move on to Naruto's view of the situation. Meaning, getting panicked like hell when he can't find his best friend/sister figure. Then, on to Ciara's 'jounin exam'. Since I'm not entirely sure what the actual procedure is for jounin promotion, I'm just making her's different because of her special circumstances.**

 **Now, enjoy!**

* * *

Naruto's P.O.V.

I yawn loudly, still kind of tired from all the running around that Sakura and I did last night to get those bells from Kakashi-Sensei. Man he made us go almost all out to get those damn bells.

Knocking on the door next to mine, I make sure to be loud about it. "Come on, Ciara, get up! Everyone's getting together later to have lunch, or did you forget?"

A note came this morning from her teammates, asking for everyone in our class to meet at the barbecue place, in the big back room meant for large, private parties. I don't know exactly what they're up to, but I'm always up for lunch with friends.

There's no answer from inside, which is weird, because even if she's tired and grumpy in the morning, she'll always answer. "Hey, Ciara!?"

"What are you doing?" The landlady comes around the corner, frowning. "Why are you knocking on an empty apartment?"

"Empty apartment? That's Ciara's apartment!" That doesn't make any sense at all. Why would the landlady say that the apartment is empty? Ciara was there for five years before we left with Jiraiya.

"You mean Lady Shiryugu?" The lady frowns. "I believe that Lord Sarutobi had her things moved out last week. The lease was terminated, so I was about to go in and do some cleaning."

"She's gone…?" But that doesn't make any sense. "Do you know where she's living now?"

The lady shakes her head. "No, but I believe that I heard something about her house being cleaned up and prepared for her. So I would ask her yourself."

 _Her house? But she doesn't have a house._ "Damn it…" I turn around to lock my own door, before racing towards the barbecue place. After all, if her teammates are going to be there, then she probably is too. And if not, they'd probably know how to find her.

* * *

The restaurant is choc full of people, though that only makes sense, seeing as it's lunchtime. _Still…they said to meet in the back room, so…_ I look around and spot one of the serving staff. "Excuse me, I'm supposed to meet a bunch of people in the back room."

"The lounge?" The server frowns, then claps his hands together. "Ah, yes, the two boys who came here talking about throwing a welcome back party for two of their friends who just came back from a long training mission. Is that your friends?"

Aha, that sounds familiar. "Wow, I didn't know it was a party for me and Ciara, but okay!"

"Ah, this way, please." He motions to a door near the back of the restaurant. "Most of your friends have already arrived. They ordered everything on the menu, so it will take a little while to prepare all of it."

"Everything on the menu?" I reach for the door with a grin. "That sounds awesome!" Opening the door, I step inside and see everyone from our year inside. Well, almost everyone. Ciara still isn't here. But if this party is for us, then she should be here pretty soon. "Hey everybody!"

"Hey Naruto!" Sakura waves at me from one end of the table. "Come and sit, we're gonna start cooking as soon as the food gets here!"

"Sweet." I look around again, just to make sure that I didn't accidentally miss her. As if that would happen, though, she and I could pick each other out in a crowd with blindfolds on. "When's Ciara getting here?"

"Right now." I feel her hand on my back, pushing me inside before I hear the door shut.

I spin around and see her standing right there, green eyes on me. "Hey! Where have you been? I went to your apartment this morning, but the landlady said that you moved out."

She laughs quietly before moving around the table to a free seat by her teammates. "Well, that's because I've moved back into my house. My uncle had it all cleaned up for me while we were away."

"Your house?" That doesn't make any sense. She never had a house from what I remember. "You have a house?"

She swallows nervously, looking around at the table. "Well, I, uh…moved back into the house I lived in as a kid." Then, she looks around at the table again. "And…everyone is staring at me like they have no idea who I am."

Hiro chuckles. "Well, that's because they didn't expect you to get so hot so fast."

Kiba sputters across the table. "Hold on, that's seriously Ciara!? That tiny little squirt turned into…that!?"

Ciara shoots Kiba an annoyed look. "Yet another person who seems to think that I should have just stayed tiny forever. People do grow, you know. It's called puberty."

"Puberty doesn't do that to someone! You got huge! It's unnatural!" Kiba's one to talk, after seeing how big Akamaru got.

She glances over at the giant white dog. "And your puppy turned into a monster wolf, but you don't hear me calling him unnatural." She picks up a glass of water in front of her and takes a sip. "Besides, I had a little help. She pats her stomach gently.

"I see, so that's it." Shino speaks up from the corner. "Your…friend helped you."

"That's right, Shino." She puts down her glass and eyes him. "Might want to take off the hood, though, its hard to see you."

He grumbles slightly, so I hold up my hands. "Hey, I said I was sorry that I didn't recognize you earlier!" Sheesh, that guy can hold a grudge.

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

Jeez, I didn't think I changed quite that much. Apparently I was wrong. "Anyway, yes, it's me, and I did what I could to speed up puberty a little. Most of this was side-effects, honestly."

"I see…" Ino looks at me rather intently. "Well, you definitely won't have any trouble getting a boyfriend, now."

"I'm not interested in a boyfriend, Ino." I roll my eyes, only for them to fall on the door as a whole trolley of food arrives. "Oh good, saved by the food."

"Oh…you're not getting out of it that easy. Come on, spill it. Did you meet any hot guys while out in the world?" Jeez, Ino sure knows how to pry into things that are none of her business.

I take a plate of beef, along with some peach sorbet. "No, Ino, I was too busy training and beating up Naruto. I don't have time to look for a boyfriend." Spreading the beef out, I hum happily as the smell starts to tickle my nose.

Some of the others start chatting, but Sakura turns to me with interest. "So…you've been beating up Naruto this whole time, huh? Mind giving me some pointers?"

"Oh, hell no!" Naruto raises his arms in an x over his head. "You two are not going to plot to murder me! No way!"

"We wouldn't plot to murder you, Naruto." I turn a few of my pieces of meat over, pleased with the color so far. "We'd just stick you in the ground and leave you there to scream at the birds pecking at your ears."

"Gah! Ciara! That's so mean!" Naruto flails a little, scooting far away from me.

I roll my eyes. "Meaner than making me do all the proofreading?"

He cringes at that. "Okay…maybe that was kinda mean. But seriously, you're better at that stuff than I am!"

"True, but I'm scarred for life now." Okay, maybe not scarred. But I now know more about sex than I ever wanted to. At least by age fifteen. That last book was rather descriptive, even for softcore erotica. "Anyway, you're proofreading his next damn book, I'm not doing that again."

"Fine, fine…just don't go plotting my murder." Naruto picks up a whole rack of meat, shoving piece after piece into his mouth.

"No promises." I like our exchanges. Of course, I never really mean it, and he knows that. He just likes to rile me up and get loud. It's like having a big brother. A really silly, weird, and sometimes very dumb big brother, who can be surprisingly smart in the oddest circumstances. And his solutions can get rather…creative.

Conversations continue, and Naruto and I end up recounting more than a few of our little tales and mishaps to our friends. Some of them were pretty funny, others less so, but still good for a few chuckles.

We're sitting around eating and chatting for nearly an hour before the door opens, revealing Kakashi. "So…where oh where is the prospective jounin?"

I look up and blink slowly. "Well, you haven't changed a bit. Did Naruto give you your present yet?"

There's a moment of silence as he stares at me, his one visible eye wide. "Well now…you've grown up even more than Naruto has. I remember a time when you barely came up to my elbow."

"Right…" I remember that too, not that I really want to remember what I was like back then. "Anyway, what's this about being a prospective jounin?" I stare pointedly at Akito and Hiro.

Hiro focuses on his food while Akito smirks. "Well, I did say that we were gonna recommend you for the promotion."

"I see…" I look back up at Kakashi. "And does you popping in on us have anything to do with that?"

"Well…sort of." He looks around at the party, most of us almost done eating at this point. "I was told by Lady Tsunade to inform you that she agreed to a promotion test. It's…a little different than the usual test, since we already know full well how smart you are, and how many advanced textbooks you can toss information out of."

Ah yes…my infamous little conversations at the hospital with the other medics. Conversations that ended up being not so little, in the end. "Alright, so what's this promotion trial, where is it, and when?"

I could swear that Kakashi is smirking as well under that damn mask. "Well…it's going to be held at your teams old training grounds, training area eighteen. It'll be held in about an hour, and whoever wants to come and watch can."

That last part…really doesn't sit well with me. "You mean they all get to watch as I…what kind of test is it, anyway?"

Kakashi's eye closes as he smiles. "A combat test. You're going to fight a couple of jounin, and be evaluated by a panel of judges."

I raise my eyebrow higher. "Two jounin at once, or one at a time?"

"Both at the same time." Kakashi's eye opens back up. "Is that a problem?"

"Well…no, but…" How do I put this without sounding like some kind of elite bitch. "Just two? That's it?" I'm not really sure if two jounin alone would prove to be enough of a challenge for me to really show off what I've learned.

Well, it makes Kakashi laugh. "Oh I'm sure that these two will put up enough of a fight for you to get a few good licks in. Now, why don't all of you finish up your party and head over to the training grounds. This is definitely going to be one match that you're not going to want to miss."

And just like that, he disappears from the doorway, leaving us all a bit stunned. Then, Naruto grins across the table at me. "Wow, looks like you're going to get to fight your way to jounin."

"Looks like…" I frown, thinking hard. "Are two opponents going to be enough, though? I mean…with my special tricks…the battle will be over kinda quickly if I go all out."

Naruto shrugs. "Then just go at like…half power. Half regular power, I mean, not your backup stuff."

I roll my eyes. "You know, you can just say to keep my wings and tails in. Everyone in the room knows about it." Well, at least to a certain degree. "But yeah…I'm definitely not using any of that. Way too dangerous. I'd seriously end up killing someone." I eat my last few pieces of food. "And probably blow up the entire training ground."

"Yeah…no kidding. Remember when you had to restrain me when I got a bit out of control?" He says that like it's a pleasant memory.

My eye twitches. "Yeah, as in you nearly killed Jiraiya, after which I had to mow down half a forest to stop you."

"And that's why it gets kept on the back burner!" He grins like he doesn't have a care in the world. Dummy…

Sighing, I get to my feet, seeing that everyone's just about done eating. "Alright, whoever wants to come watch, feel free. It's probably not going to last very long, but you might still get a kick out of it either way."

Akito chuckles behind me. "Sure, just let us pay the bill, and we'll all get out of here."

Well, seeing as I've definitely got the most money to burn, I pull out more than enough money for the food, leaving a sizable tip on one of the clean trays. "There, that should be plenty."

Hiro gapes at me. "Whoa, where's you get all that!?"

"From my house at the Shiryugu estate. There's plenty of it there." Plenty was, of course, an understatement. But there's no need to freak out my old classmates with the details.

Shikamaru's eyes widen. "I thought that place was abandoned years ago." Then, he frowns. "Where is it, anyway?"

I pause a second. "…I might throw a party there sometime. If I do, I'll show you then." Until then, I'd kind of rather have my privacy. Well, for the most part. "Anyway, let's go. Might as well get there early."

"Right!" Naruto jumps to his feet, looking pretty eager, considering that this isn't even going to be his fight. "Let's hit the training ground! It's gonna be an all out brawl, and Ciara's gonna win!"

I shake my head and leave the room. "Idiot." If I'm trying to get promoted to jounin, the whole point is not to turn it into a slugfest. That definitely won't earn me any points. Well…there's always genjutsu. It's not perfect, but it's been getting a lot stronger lately. If I can keep a couple of jounin trapped in that, that would definitely earn me points.

* * *

Surprisingly, the whole class follows me to the training grounds, though it takes us over half an hour, since everyone insists on taking it easy and gabbing the whole way there. Honestly, for a bunch of ninja, they're all pretty loud.

Not that I can really judge.

It's nice though, to see this familiar sight. The lake is just as big and blue as ever, and the trees surrounding are lush and green with the colors of late spring.

Stretching my arms over my head, I bend down and start stretching my muscles out. "So, do you two have any idea what this combat test is going to be like?"

Akito smirks. "We might. But saying anything now would spoil the surprise."

Well, that's more than a little suspicious. Though I take my mind off that a few minutes later when several new chakra signatures approach our group while I'm still stretching.

I look out between my legs to see Ibiki, Kakashi, Uncle Asuma, Kurenai, and even Yuki-Sensei. Well, looks like a panel of jounin judges. _Unless…I'm going to have to fight two or more of them._ "So, you're here…now, who am I fighting?"

There's two flashes on either side of me, and out of pure instinct, I bend my arms, lift my legs over my head, and spring away from the two who attacked me in half a second.

And why does it not surprise me that much to see Hiro and Akito armed and ready to fight. "So…it's the two of you, huh?"

Hiro grins. "Yeah, which means that you'd better not hold back as much as you planned to, otherwise you're going to end up face down in the dirt."

"Well, I'm still going to end up playing medic when all of this is over." I straighten up and pull my two tanto from their sheaths, excitement flashing in my eyes. "You wanna fight with weapons first? Fine by me." I've foregone shuriken and kunai training for the most part, focusing rather single-mindedly on my short-swords in terms of weapons. I can still use the rest with a large degree of proficiency, but now…I'm much better than I used to be at close quarters combat. "Come."

The two of them nod, before disappearing from right in front of me. _The Body Flicker, huh? A good try, but…_ I spin around as they reappear, slashing my tanto down at forty-five degree angles, driving their attacks right into the ground. Then, I leap off the ground, spinning upside down to kick the both of them right in the stomach, hurling them in opposite directions.

Then, I flicker behind Akito, the lighter of the two, and slam a powerful kick into his back, one that I developed courtesy of Lee's hand-me-down ankle weights. Which I'm still wearing, oops.

Akito goes flying right into Hiro, who catches Akito and swirls around, putting his partner, read as boyfriend, back on the ground. Akito groans quietly. "Well, it seems that all of that taijutsu training paid off. That actually hurt."

"Good to know." I brace myself, staying steady, but light on my feet as I wait for the next attack. After all, as soon as I actually go on the offensive…this battle is going to be as good as over.

As soon as the two of them lock eyes, I know that this isn't going to be good. And with surprising synchronization, the two of them weave hand signs, Hiro slamming his palms to the ground, while Akito slams his together.

"Earth Style: Earth Dragon!"

"Lightning Style: Thunder!"

That's…not good. Their teamwork and combinations have gotten even better since I left. Hiro's earth dragon races towards me, bathed in a shower of Akito's lightning chakra.

Well, looks like it's time to put all of that training with the old pervert to good use, after all, he taught me everything I know about Earth Style. My hands flash through the first technique, before moving on to the second just as huge earthen walls spring up around me. "Earth Style: Multi Mud Wall!" And then…once out of sight, I sink right down into the ground, completely hidden from view as I tunnel through it quickly, racing underground to the other side of the battlefield.

Silently, I pop out of the ground thirty feet behind the two, and my hands are already on the move. _Water Style: Water Bullets! Lightning Style: Thunderbolt!_ As watery projectiles shoot from my mouth, my hands are enveloped in lightning, and I bring them together in front of me, supercharging my water bullets with the added lightning element.

The two of them start dodging the bullets as quickly as they can, but I still get in more than a few hits as they scramble to orient themselves. I smirk slightly, but only slightly, since I don't want to mess up the trajectory of my bullets.

Similar bullets come flying back at me, forcing me into evasive maneuvers. And my favorite one…"Wind Style: Air Cushion!" By making the cushion underneath me, and then popping it, I send myself flying high into the air. Perfect…

Seconds later, my hands press together as a flood of fire explodes from my mouth. With this, I think that I've sufficiently demonstrated that my elemental ninjutsu training has paid off.

Which leaves only one thing. And I flicker away as the last of the flames rain down on the battlefield. Concealing my chakra as best I can, I take a deep breath, and then another, and another. I breathe for about ten seconds, before taking in one particularly deep breath, infusing my voice with chakra as I begin to sing high and clear.

 _ **"Hajimari no kaze yo**_

 _ **Tokdoke messeji**_

 _ **Itsudemo anata wo shinjite iru kara…"**_

I know already that the genjutsu should be disorienting them a little. But that's not all it does.

 _ **Ano toki yume ni mite ita**_

 _ **Sekai ni tatte iru no ni**_

 _ **Miwatasu keshiki ni ashi wo sukoshi sukumase**_

By now, they should already be feeling the paralysis. And not just Akito and Hiro. No…as I walk back out from behind my tree, it pleases me to see that they're not the only ones shocked and frozen in place.

 _ **Dakedo ushiro furimuka naide**_

 _ **Aruite yuku koto kimeta kara**_

 _ **Miageta sora nanairo no niji**_

 _ **Anata mo mite masu ka**_

Right about now, their bodies should be growing weak, and I can see the signs that they would be collapsing to their knees, if they could move at all. Next…the hallucinations.

 _ **Hajimari no kaze yo todoke messeji**_

 _ **Yume ni kake dashita senaka mimamoru kara**_

 _ **Mai agaru kaze yo omoi wo tsutaete**_

 _ **Itsudemo anatawo shinjite iru kara**_

 _ **Habatake mirai e…**_

No one is moving, and it's only been the first few verses of the song. It took a long time to master, but now, it looks like all of that practice singing paid off. At the very least, I know that I let them hear a nice song before putting them on the ground.

Striking both of them at the back of their necks, I knock Akito and Hiro to the ground, before letting my chakra flood out and release all of the onlookers from the genjutsu.

There's something of a sigh of relief from our old classmates, and Naruto just looks ticked, like he always is when I use that genjutsu. "Damn it, you could have warned me that you were gonna do that!"

I raise an eyebrow at him. "I was in battle alone against two opponents, so there was no one for me to inform that I was about to put the whole area under a genjutsu. Do you expect me to just stop in the middle of a fight to tell you to cover your ears? It's not a lethal genjutsu and you know that. Besides, no one else could move either, so you were perfectly safe."

He crosses his arms and grumbles, just like every other time I've practiced my genjutsu and hit him with it.

But…not that the actual fight is over, I go back to my teammates and let chakra fill my palms. "You idiots…pushing me so far that I actually had to sing your defenses away…"

While I'm healing the two dummies, the jounin here to observe the fight walk over. Ibiki eyes me, then looks at the boys. "You know, you're not supposed to heal your enemy after a battle."

"I know." I increase the chakra flow in my hands. "But one the fight was over, they went right back to being my teammates. And it's my job as the medic to tend to my teammates' injuries. Even if I'm the one who gave them the injuries in the first place."

"I see…" He looks to the other jounin, and I'm not entirely sure what kind of weird telepathic conversation they're having, but eventually, they seem to come to some sort of agreement. Ibiki looks back to me. "How much of those old textbooks do you remember? The ones you talked about during your hospital shifts."

I shoot him a flat look. "What book, what chapter, and do you want it paraphrased or verbatim?"

Kakashi chuckles. "Well, I think that answers that question."

I roll my eyes. "I can even recite that pervy book in your pocket word for word. I read it at least ten times while proofreading it. Worst month ever."

Chuckling quietly, Kakashi rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, you got me there. Anyway, we've been evaluating your skill level, your use of tactics, and your judgment while under pressure. You've proven that you can think fast, and ultimately worm your way out of difficult situations with little to no harm done to yourself." He looks me up and down, and I think I might have maybe two scratches, tops.

Yuki-Sensei smiles at me, then pats me on the head. "Even though this was…not the traditional kind of test, I think that we've seen more than enough. And I doubt that any of us were expecting to fall into such a powerful genjutsu, that was certainly a surprise, as much of a surprise as your ninjutsu demonstration. So, unless anyone has any objections…" There's a pause, and no one speaks. "Then from today forward, you are a jounin."

My eyes widen at the proclamation, then I smile. "Well, I guess all that hellish training did pay off." I shiver at the flood of memories. "Seriously, that old pervert put the two of us through absolute hell whenever he wasn't screwing around with our heads."

Kakashi coughs. "Uh, well…you should be more respectful to Master Jiraiya."

"Not likely." I turn my nose up slightly. "I was with him for two and a half years. Years! That man is an absolute pervert, and I'm only glad that most of his habits didn't rub off too much on Naruto." _Well…mostly, anyway._

Then, the crowd starts splitting up, some people waving and heading home, others off to who knows where. Naruto, on the other hand, approaches me, his hands behind his head. "So…you made jounin."

"Looks like it." I smile at him, but I'm pretty sure that still being a genin is getting to him. Making the hop up to chunin isn't easy to begin with. But… "Don't worry, even if you never become a chunin or a jounin, you're still going to be Hokage someday, right?"

That brightens Naruto's face immediately. "Believe it! I'm gonna be the best Hokage ever!" I'm sure… "Now, come on Kakashi-Sensei, let's go get a mission from Grandma Tsunade!"

 _A mission, huh? That sounds familiar._ "Do you mind if I tag along? I should probably pay her a visit, since I didn't really have the chance to yesterday.

"Alright!" Naruto spins around and starts plodding off towards the Hokage tower, followed closely by an exasperated looking Sakura.

Akito and Hiro, now conscious again, sit up and smile at me, and Akito is the one to speak. "Nice job today. You totally earned this promotion."

"I would hope so, after everything I went through to get this far. After the cacti, tails, hot springs, and giant toads, I would hope that I got something out of it." We…had more than a few incidents on the road.

Hiro blinks at me bemusedly "Uh…sure, whatever you say."

Laughing a bit at his confusion, I turn to head after Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi. "Anyway, I'll see you two later. I'm gonna go visit Grandma Tsunade."

Akito rolls his eyes. "You know, if you call her that something bad is going to happen."

"You worry too much." I snicker as I bound away, chasing down Naruto and Sakura on their way to the Hokage tower.


	3. Off To The Sand

**Thankfully, I am no longer freaking out about the research proposal that I had to hand in for my medical anthropology class. So that's good.**

 **Anyway, it's good to see so many people following the story, it really makes me happy that people like the story. I do encourage you to review, though. I like hearing from you guys. I like hearing what works, and I'm totally willing to clear up any confusion when it arises. But again, no flames. Flames make me rant, and I can rant for hours.**

 **I hope that you all liked the last two chapters, because this one starts the Kazekage Rescue arc. Immediately after that, you'll all get something very much non-canon for a few chapters.**

 **And if anyone recognized the lyrics in the last chapter, kudos, if not, I'll post the name of the song in the next chapter so that you guys can all enjoy it too.**

 **Now, on with the show. And it gets angsty later.**

* * *

I walk into the Hokage tower alongside Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi. And actually…it's kind of weird to think that I'm up on the same level as Kakashi, at least technically. That guy probably still has enough experience to run circles around me as long as I'm holding back to keep from killing anyone, though. But…it's mostly just weird because though I didn't know it, the first time I ever met him was while he was an ANBU. _I still have to wonder why he decided to become a sensei instead…_

Naruto grins beside me, putting his hands behind his head. "Aw man, it'll feel so good to be on real mission again."

"Look, whatever kind of mission we're given, just take it and don't complain about it." I resist the urge to snicker at Sakura. It looks like she's trying to prevent what happened just before the Land of Waves mission when we were all little. I found out after the fact, but still, it sounds like it was hilarious.

"Don't sweat it, those days are over." _Really, Naruto? You're going to play that kind of game? You always complain if something is too easy._

Kakashi sighs. "I hope so…"

"Out of the way! Out of the way!" A woman who looks like she's part of the Cipher Corps runs past us, clearly in some kind of hurry. _Maybe they got an important letter or something…_

"What was that?" Sakura leans back, shocked as the woman disappears from sight.

Naruto, on the other hand, is not pleased by nearly being run over. "Why don't you watch where you're going!? Who do you think you are!?

"Just leave it alone, Naruto." It's best not to try disturbing someone from the Cipher Corps. They handle the really important missives. "Come on, it's time to go and see Grandma Tsunade."

Sakura groans. "Not you too…why do you call her that?"

 _You mean apart from the fact that she's an old grandma who drinks too much?_ "Naruto started it, I picked it up, it stuck. End of story." Well, that and her vice, but that would be going a bit too far.

Kakashi knocks on the door of the mission room,on the floor beneath Tsunade's office, and I hear a very familiar voice from inside. "Come in!" The compulsively late ninja opens the door, letting the four of us into the Hokage's office. And once inside, she scrutinizes the four of us. "Is that…?"

I smirk at her reaction. "It's been a while, hasn't it Grandma Tsunade? Interesting test you guys set up, I actually had to dip into my bag of tricks."

Tsunade's eye twitches slightly. "Well, it's good to see that you learned a lot while the two of you were away. I assume that this visit is to officially let me know that you're back?"

"It is." I smile and stride over to the balcony, leaning against it. "Did you miss me?"

She rolls her eyes this time. "Not that much." There's a moment of silence, before laughing fills the room, hers and mine. When it does down, she smiles. "In any case, it's good to have you back, Ciara. I've also heard that you've moved back into the Shiryugu estate. Is that true?"

I glance out into the distance, towards the mountain just visible around the buildings. "Yes, I have."

"I see." She laces her fingers together, looking at me carefully. "Just know that if anything happens, you can bring it to my attention. Am I clear?"

Oh…she's clear alright. It means that if living there triggers me in any way, shape, or form, that she wants to know about it. "I think things will be alright. But if something happens, I'll let you know."

"Good. Now…" Tsunade turns to Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi. "For your first mission as a team again, you'll be getting a C-Rank escort mission. A gold convoy wants protection while they transport their shipment. It's likely that you'll run into bandits trying to take the gold from the caravan, so be prepared for a fight."

"Huh!? Escort duty on a caravan!?" Naruto's face twists up in irritation. "Come on!

Tsunade places her chin on her hand, glaring slightly at Naruto. "What, have you got a problem with that?"

"Well, since you're asking, yes!" I think we all saw this coming. "Lousy C-Rank mission…it's beneath my dignity!"

Iruka slams his pam to his face. "Naruto…your skills may have improved, but mentally, you haven't matured at all."

Tsunade sits up straight as Shizune looks sheepish. "Naruto, I'm choosing an easier mission to start with to break you in. You've been gone from us for a while."

"What!? Who says I want an easier mission!?" Well, if nothing else, Naruto makes some rather amusing faces when he's upset.

Sakura grabs him and drives her fist into the top of his head. "I'm so sorry Milady, let me talk to him, I'm sure I can bring him around."

Tsunade shakes her head wearily. "The details of your mission are here." She slides the paper forward for Kakashi to see.

"Right." Kakashi ignores the two fighting over nothing to take a look at the mission.

Naruto…really doesn't know when to shut his mouth. "I miss the Third Hokage, that old man was smart, he knew what he was doing."

"Huh!? What did you say?" Tsunade looks ready to leap over that table and smack Naruto herself.

Thankfully, thats when the door opens to reveal the woman from the Cipher Corps. "Lady Tsunade, terrible news!"

"Now, what is it?" Tsunade looks more than a little peeved at the interruption.

"An emergency dispatch from the Sand." And that catches my attention, focusing all of it solely on her.

Tsunade goes into serious work mode immediately, quite a change from seemingly wanting to lunge across the room to whack Naruto around. "Where is this dispatch?"

The woman hands the paper over. "I deciphered it as quickly as I could."

Tsunade's eyes flick across the page, narrowing with every line. "What the…" That kind of reaction can't possibly mean anything good. And judging by the looks on Iruka and Shizune's faces as they look at the paper, it's definitely a bad thing.

Even Naruto calms down at hearing that it has to do with the Sand. Probably because Gaara is over there. "What is it, what happened?"

Tsunade looks up. "It's the Kazekage of the Sand. It seems he's been taken prisoner by the Akatsuki."

What? But they're hunting… "Gaara…" I didn't know that he'd been made Kazekage, but he's the only one in the Sand village that I could possibly imagine them wanting. Itachi…what the hell are you doing?

"Gaara…" Naruto grits his teeth. "So they're back again."

Tsunade's face goes cold. "We've been studying them. We know more about the Akatsuki than any other village. Therefore, the Sand Village has officially requested our help."

Shizune panics, though I'm not sure why. "You're not suggesting that Team Kakashi-"

"This is urgent, I don't have time to form another squad." Tsunade cuts Shizune off. "And besides, we have someone here who's actually fought the Akatsuki."

"And don't forget two more who have been in training to fight the Akatsuki for almost three years now." I call attention to myself, my arms crossed, and my voice sharp. "And from what I see, the squad is down one combatant."

"W-well yes, but-" Shizune sworls around to look at me. "You and Naruto are-"

"Are what?" I stare at her, daring her to say it. "Tell me, Shizune."

Tsunade shoots her assistant a look, cutting off whatever she was about to say next. "Ciara…how much of your training did you and Naruto do together?"

Shifting my eyes away from Shizune, I look to Tsunade. "All of it. Under duress in battle, we know each other's moves inside and out."

"I see…" She bows her head for a moment, clearly thinking. "Very well, then. As Team Kakashi is short a member, Ciara Shiryugu, you are hereby ordered to accompany them as the final member of Kakashi's squad for this mission. And Team Kakashi, I'm assigning you a new mission. You're to go to the Sand Village at once, find out what's going on there, and keep us informed. You're to remain there and follow their orders. Give them any backup they need."

"Yes Ma'am." Now is the time to be serious. I direct my gaze firmly to Kakashi. "I will be at the village gates in ten minutes, I'll wait for you there."

He nods. "Alright, then we leave in half an hour. Get ready to leave as fast as you can."

"Right!" Naruto turns tail and races out the door, obviously heading for his apartment to pack.

Meanwhile, I flicker off the balcony, racing back towards my house. It doesn't take long for me to reach the village walls, and I jump right over them. The mountain isn't far now, just a kilometer ahead, and then up the stairs.

I sprint into the trees, before taking to the branches and leaping from tree to tree, getting faster and faster as the slope steepens. And soon, the stairs come into view. I remember the Land of Tea, and those stairs that Idate called the Spirit Breaker, but these are even more intense, going right up the side of the mountain.

Good thing I trained so hard in taijutsu, these stairs are no problem, and I zip up them easily. My progress reveals the first set of hidden terraces, then the second, and the third. Each terrace contains a dozen or so buildings, unused, but still here.

Five minutes later, I arrive at the top of the mountain, coming upon a large wood and stone structure, painted in a half dozen colors, three shades of red, gold trimmings, and orange and pink accents where appropriate. It looks like an autumn sunset threw up on the place. The palace.

My home.

Opening the doors, I leap onto the third floor balcony, pushing open another door to reveal a room of green and blue, with a large bed in the center, and personal items scattered about.

The first thing I do is head for the closet, where I've been keeping my medical bags. But this time…instead of my typical medical bag, I take my combat medic kit. Because I am not planning on standing back this time. No…when I get my hands on the bastards who thought that it was a good idea to kidnap my friend, I'm going to make them wish they were never born. And I have to make sure that we get there in time to save Gaara, because I honestly have no idea what they're planning to do with him.

I glance over at the pictures that dot my room and smile sadly when they fall on one of Itachi and Shisui. _I promise…I'll find out what's really going on. And I won't give up until I do._

Strapping my weapons and kit in place, I race out of my room and into the large entrance hall that's always just been used as a giant living room. I take one look around, spinning as I do so, before heading for the door and flickering my way down the side of the mountain.

I make it to the village gates before the others do, but forget Kakashi's estimation, everyone is there by the time fifteen minutes is up. Naruto and Sakura must have really hurried. Tsunade and Iruka are even here to see us off.

"Are we ready, then?" I'm anxious to get the this on the road. And the more time we stay here, the more time that the Akatsuki has to take Gaara away.

Kakashi nods, so Naruto slides on his backpack. "Okay, let's get moving."

Sakura turns to salute her teacher. "Be back soon milady, we won't let you down."

"Good." Tsunade's eyes stay fixed on us, and I can tell that she's very worried about this mission. But it can't be helped. Gaara needs rescuing immediately, and we were just there. Not to mention that Naruto and I would be hard pressed not to go running after him anyway.

Iruka sighs painfully, the tries to smile. "Naruto, good luck."

Naruto nods. "Thanks." He turns to face the road, leading off this expedition with a grim expression.

"Hey there!" Jiraiya cuts us off quickly and seemingly out of nowhere. "Off on a mission, you two?"

"That's right!" Naruto gives the old pervert a slightly less respectful version of Sakura's salute.

"Well, good for you, but more importantly…" Jiraiya walks right past us, heading straight for Tsunade. "I've got some disturbing news. The Sand's Kazekage-"

"Yes, I know." Tsunade cuts him off. "I'm dispatching a squad, they're just about to leave."

That disturbs Jiraiya, judging by the look on his face. And after a rather heated, whispered conversation with his old teammate, he walks over to us. "Naruto, Ciara, I want a word with the two of you."

Naruto looks at me in confusion, so I shrug. "Alright, fine, but make it fast, we're racing the clock here."

Jiraiya nods, leading us away from Sakura and Kakashi. "Listen to me, now. You be careful around those Akatsuki, you hear? Especially you, Ciara, you've already got a connection to one of them. You don't need to make them any more interested in you."

That provokes a glare from me, but Naruto unknowingly cuts me off just as I open my mouth. "They've all been out looking for us, right? Well this way, they won't have to look very far."

Jiraiya's eyes narrow. "It's true that both of you have come a long way, but training doesn't mean a thing if you get reckless and blow your cool. Naruto, you still have a bad habit of losing your head. And Ciara, you need to rein him in if that happens. Same with the reverse. Ciara, I know that it takes a lot to get to you, but when someone hits the mark, you're quick to anger, and your temper burns hot. I know that you think fast, but taking a step back is important, no matter how quickly you have to move." Then, he leans down and pats Naruto on the shoulder. "Naruto, never use that power…you know what I'm talking about. Ciara won't be able to fight properly if she's trying to subdue you again."

I know the logic behind his words, but it's still rather pessimistic. "I can keep him in check, don't you worry. It's the Akatsuki you should be worrying about. Because the ones who took Gaara are going to find out what it means to incur a dragon's wrath."

"I know." He stands back up and scrutinizes me. "You watch yourself out there. And watch each other's backs."

"Of course." I pull on Naruto's sleeve as Jiraiya walks over towards Kakashi. "Come on, the Akatsuki aren't going to just stop and wait for us to catch up."

"Right." Naruto walks with me, before looking back over his shoulder. "Kakashi-Sensei, Sakura, come on. What are we waiting for?"

"Okay, okay! Coming!" Sakura races to catch up to us. And it's not long before Kakashi catches up as well.

That's when we take off, racing down the road, before veering off in the direction of the Land of Wind and the Sand Village, making a beeline through the trees towards our destination. And by unspoken consent, we travel at a fairly rapid pace, and neither of us hear any complaints from Kakashi or Sakura.

Only when Naruto breaks formation for the seventh time, does Sakura finally take issue with it. "Naruto, I know you're in a hurry, but quit breaking formation."

Naruto nearly freezes, but still flies quickly through the air. "I know, but-"

"Don't lose your cool. Master Jiraiya taught you better than that, didn't he?" Kakashi bringing that old perv into this is a bit of a low blow, in my opinion.

That's when Sakura spots something down through the trees. "Temari!" _Oh…shit._

The four of us drop from the trees, and since I know that Naruto is only going to make things worse, I stop him before he says anything, directing Temari's attention to me. "We're on an emergency mission to the Sand Village. According to an emergency dispatch, the Kazekage has been captured by the Akatsuki, and we're to go and provide any and all backup required. Which…basically translates to going on a rescue mission."

Temari's eyes widen. "Gaara!? He's been-" Then, she frowns. "But…you're-"

"Ciara, yeah, I know, I look different now. But that's not important. Gaara's been kidnapped." My eyes flicker back towards our destination, much too far to be seen by the naked eye. "Which is why we caught up to you so quickly, we're kind of in a rush."

Kakashi raises his hand "We're two and a half days out from the Sand. We should hurry."

"Right." Temari's eyes harden with determination, and as we jump back into the trees, she comes with us, almost flying as we race towards her home.

Later into the night, long after the sun has gone down, Sakura finally voices her second complaint. "Naruto, would you slow down already? Quit getting ahead of us."

"I can't take this anymore!" Naruto growls, so I speed up to be by his side. "I know why they're after Gaara, me, Ciara…it's not like it's a mystery or anything. You know too, don't you, Sakura? There's no point hiding it." Naruto's voice shakes a little. "The spirit of the Nine-Tailed Fox is sealed away inside of me. And Ciara too, she's got one sealed in her as well. We've all got monsters locked inside of us. That's what these bastards are after. And that's the worst part about it. To them, we're just monsters, all those bastards see is a means to an end! Everything about us…Gaara and me…was exactly the same. And he had to fend for himself a lot longer than I ever did."

I grit my teeth and glare ahead at invisible foes. "I guess…I'm lucky, in a way. I didn't lose everything I cared about until I was five years old." There's a hollow feeling in my stomach. "And the night I should have died, was the night my seal was placed. And unlike Naruto and Gaara…the spirit sealed inside me, instead of trying to hurt me or control me, has been watching me, looking after me, and raising me ever since the first time he spoke to me. Still, Naruto and Gaara are my brothers, my kin, and I will never abandon them. I will never abandon the people I love and want to protect!"

"But now…he's a target of the Akatsuki." Naruto's words make my fists clench. They're precisely who I want to protect Gaara from. "One more thing the three of us have in common. Why should his life be so full of misery all the time? Why is it always him!?" He's right, sort of. But his own childhood was pretty bad too. I should know, I was there. "That's why I've gotta hurry! I don't have a second to waste!" He sprints on ahead, nearly disappearing from sight. "This time will be different, this time, I'm gonna be there to save him!"

"And he's not the only one…" I press my foot hard against a branch, springing off it at twice the speed I was using before. And it breaks my heart to see tears falling from Naruto's eyes. So, I grab his hand. "We're going to save him. No ifs, ands, or buts."

* * *

We travel hours more, taking only a couple hours to rest before the sun comes up before we're back on track. And with the others putting away food pills, Sakura leaps forward towards me and Naruto. "Naruto."

"Yeah?" Naruto looks off to his left, my right, at Sakura between us.

Her face is grim. "So tell me, you've met him before, haven't you? Itachi Uchiha. And…he's after you now isn't he?" Sakura seems irritated by Kakashi's surprised noise. "You know, it's not like I just spent my time training these past two and a half years. I stole into Lady Tsunade's library, and snuck out of the village as much as I could. And now…the one thing that bothered me more than anything else finally makes sense. The person Sasuke wanted to kill…it was his older brother Itachi, wasn't it? A member of the Akatsuki."

I bite my tongue, keeping myself in check. After all, it would do absolutely no good right now to toss my anger at Sakura, when she has no idea what talking about Itachi does to me.

Of course, because I don't say a word, she just keeps on going. "That's the whole reason he left, he saw Orochimaru as a way to obtain power. But all that worthless viper cares about is Sasuke's body. And we don't have much time left to stop him. But Orochimaru used to be a member of the Akatsuki himself. All I'm trying to say is…we can't give up. The closer we get to the Akatsuki, the closer we are to finding information about Orochimaru. So the closer we are to them, the closer we are to Sasuke." Then, she clenches her fists. "And then, Itachi is gonna pay."

"Tch." I glare back at Sakura, catching all of them in my line of sight. "You have no idea who you're talking about, so don't act like you know anything about Itachi."

Sakura frowns back at me. "Oh yeah? And what do you know about him?" Temari looks just as confused, but stays quiet.

Kakashi sighs. "Sakura…I think it would be best to refrain from mentioning Itachi in front of his best friend's niece."

"His best friend's-" She looks from Kakashi to me, suspicion in her eyes. "Hold on, so you know that murderer!?"

Murderer… "Of course I know him. Just like Shisui, I called him Uncle. Chi-chi meant the world to me when I was a kid. Then, he disappeared all of a sudden, and I didn't see him again until he found me and Naruto in that hotel." My glare hardens. "And if you're going to judge him, do it far away from me. I don't like hearing people talk shit about my family when there's clearly something else going on. Because yeah, now I know about what supposedly happened with the Uchiha Clan. Problem is, Itachi wouldn't just do something like that. There's something missing!"

"What are you talking about? It's pretty cut and dry, I read the reports." Sakura presses the subject angrily. "Itachi Uchiha massacred the entire Uchiha Clan for no reason. Killed them all in one night. He's a bloodthirsty monster."

"You're wrong." I look on ahead, my chakra almost bubbling to the surface. "You have no idea…but Itachi isn't like that. He hates fighting, he hates killing, and he hates war. As long as I can remember, he's been a pacifist. Why would someone like that suddenly kill their entire clan out of the blue, and for no reason at all? Tell me a reason, I dare you."

"Well, it looks like you didn't know him as well as you think." I know that Sakura thinks she's right, but she's so wrong. My instincts are screaming at me that there's something else, something wrong. And I know to trust my instincts.

I don't care if the whole world think I'm wrong. I will continue to trust my instincts until the day they finally fail me.


	4. Purging a Poisoned Puppetmaster

**After writing this chapter, I realized just how much I make Ciara interact with boys instead of girls. I mean, I guess it makes sense that she would talk more to guys because she's been joined at the hip with Naruto for like…eight years, but it's actually kind of weird. Should I have her interacting with girls more? Or would that make her too 'girly'? Is she too girly already? Not girly enough (less of a concern since she's a ninja and all, but still)?**

 **Thoughts?**

* * *

I know that it's not the best of things to do, but I know for a fact that like me, Naruto has barely rested at all since we left the Leaf. I'm not entirely sure if its anxiety, fear, or impatience, or all three, but I know that for me, it's definitely all three.

Which is why, after two days in high gear, and covering more distance than we usually would in this amount of time, we come to the edge of the desert about twelve hours ahead of schedule.

Naruto sighs with relief, a small smile reaching towards his eyes. "Alright, we finally reached the desert."

"The Village Hidden in the Sand is just up ahead." Temari points off in the direction of a tiny pinprick. If the desert weren't s flat as it is, it would be completely impossible to see. "It's best if I take the lead from here on out.

Kakashi nods, seeing great wisdom in letting the local guide us to the village. "Lead on." After all, if anyone can have us there quickly, taking shortcuts and stuff, it would be Temari.

And so, we take off through the desert, and because of the loose qualities of the sand beneath our feet, I apply the water-walking principle to the situation, sending chakra to the soles of my feet in order to not sink into the sand.

We're good for about seven hours, before the sand starts to kick up a fuss. The wind…is not a happy one right now. "Temari, is this the start of-"

"A sandstorm, yes." Answering my question, she looks around, spotting a large formation of rocks. "There. We can take shelter in the caves there until the storm dies down."

"What are you talking about? We have to get to the Sand now!" Naruto looks over at us, frustration and anger in his eyes.

"Naruto…" Kakashi catches up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "If we get caught out in a sandstorm, not only will we lose a lot of time by getting lost, but we could die out there. And that won't help us save him."

As if heeding Kakashi's words, the wind picks up, kicking even more sand into the air. Temari turns, leading us towards the caves, while I try t block out the sound of Naruto's cursing.

Once we're all safely in the cave, I look back outside to see exactly what we just barely escaped getting caught in. What was once a gentle breeze is now similar to a typhoon. Except with sand blanketing everything. _Damn it, how long is this going to last?_

Naruto sits, glaring out at the sandstorm as it continues to rage. "We got this close to our target, and we're just sitting here! I can't stand this waiting!

"Naruto, for the last time, relax. There's nothing we can do." Kakashi is trying to be the voice of reason, but Naruto's heightened emotions are making him mostly beyond that at this point.

Naruto's emotions refuse to cool, however. "I know, but-"

Sakura chides him none too gently. "Just be patient. Would you look at Temari? She's the one who's worried the most."

Temari looks up, her face still calm. "The cardinal rule of traveling in the desert…if you hit a sandstorm, you stay put. You lose all you sense of direction in a storm like that. I've heard of many people getting lost in the desert and dying of thirst." Then, she smiles. "Don't worry, the sandstorms we get this time of year usually don't last very long."

Naruto doesn't look particularly reassured by that. "Well, I just hope you're right."

An hour later, Temari's words turn out to be true. The sandstorm dies down, clearing the way to the Sand Village. And I'm the first on my feet. "Alright, we've got time to make up. Temari, lead the way."

"Right." She's on her feet in an instant, long with Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura.

The five of us take off towards the Sand, traveling at a rapid pace for over an hour, covering a vast distance as we leave the remnants of the sandstorm far behind us.

When the passage to the village comes into view, my heart soars. "We're here!"

"Yeah!" Naruto finally allows us to slow the pace as we approach the gates.

The two guards on duty approach us. "We've been expecting you."

"Lady Temari, you were with them?" The other guard looks back and forth in slight confusion.

The first doesn't give anyone time to answer. "Please, this way." He takes off into the city, leading us further inside. "Lord Kankuro has been recovered and transported to the hospital already."

Temari's eyes widen in alarm. "What!? You're saying they got Kankuro as well?"

The ninja nods as we run. "Yes, when the enemy took Lord Kazekage, Kankuro went after them by himself. He was poisoned, and we haven't been able to find anything to counteract it. He won't last much longer."

Temari looks heartbroken, so Sakura runs up to her side. "Don't worry, Temari, let me take a look at him."

"Yeah, I'll take a look too." Putting aside my differences with Sakura, I smile. "Looks like you guys really hit the jackpot with who happened to be in the mission room when the message came in. You got a team with two medics on it." And I have to wonder just how much Sakura learned under Tsunade while me and Naruto were away.

Temari's expression brightens for a moment. "Thank you."

"Well, don't thank us quite yet. Thank us once we've saved both your brothers." Because we will save them. First, Kankuro, then, Gaara.

We race into the hospital and through the corridors, Temari in the lead as we run into the emergency room. "Kankuro!"

Sakura, Temari, and I head straight for the bed in the middle of the room, and I can already tell that this isn't going to be pretty.

"Damn you!" An old lady runs past us, straight for Kakashi. "Get ready to defend yourself or die!"

I skid to a stop, frowning as the old woman goes on the attack, then roll my eyes and jump over the bed and land on Kankuro's other side. _Whatever it is…Kakashi can handle it._

Or not, because it's Naruto and his clones who handle the old lady. "What do you think you're doing attacking Kakashi-Sensei like that, you wrinkly old prune?"

"I haven't forgotten what you did. I've been waiting for this day, White Fang of the Leaf. The day I wreak vengeance on you for what you did to my son!" This lady is clearly senile. I've never heard Kakashi called anything like that.

Kakashi holds up his hands sheepishly. "No no no, you see, I'm not-"

"That's enough talk!" The little old lady looks ready to go right back on the attack, until she's stopped by an equally old and wrinkly old man.

"Take a closer look at the man, sis." Though I don't see how he can look at anything, considering how huge those eyebrows are. They're even bigger than Lee's. Not to mention the fact that almost all of Kakashi's face is covered. "It's true there's a resemblance, but this one is not the White Fang. Besides, as you know, the White Fang of the Leaf died long ago. Remember? When you heard the news, you wept in frustration because that meant you would never have your vengeance. Isn't that so, sis?"

Her demeanor changes in an instant. "Oh well, nevermind." Then she goes and starts laughing. Laughing. _She's crazy, absolutely has to be._

Then, Kankuro starts thrashing again, and I move to hold him down, before looking at his sister. "Temari, grant Sakura and I permission to take over the emergency room!" It's going to take both of us to do this, I just know it.

She looks at me, stunned. "Uh…y-yeah, of course."

"Alright." I usher the medics away as Sakura puts up her hair and moves to his other side. "Okay, so we're dealing with a severe poisoning case. I doubt that my all-purpose antidotes will be much help in this case, but I can always give it a try. Sakura, how versed are you in poisons?" She was taught by Tsunade after all, and Jiraiya has talked more than once about how talented Tsunade is at concocting antidotes, poisons, and other drugs.

"Probably more than you, but since he's this far in…" I might have been offended by that, but her tone and the situation make it clear what she means.

I place my hands on Kankuro's stomach, letting chakra fill my palms. "Yeah. We both have our place, right?"

"Right." Sakura looks around. "It'd be better if you all clear out." And as she says so, she starts examining his eyes, and shoving her hand into his mouth, while I go about examining his internal organs. It's not good.

"What're you-" One of the Sand medics approaches the table. "Who are you?"

Sakura takes her hand out and straightens up to look t them. "I'm a Leaf medical ninja."

I nod, my hands still working on examining his body. "And I'm a jounin level combat medic, also from the Leaf." As if that wasn't already obvious by my headband. "You guys got really lucky today. The four of us happened to be on hand when your message came in, so we got sent here. We didn't know you needed medics, but I guess Kankuro has someone watching over him." I frown at my findings. "We do have a problem, though…" the glow around my hands brightens. "He doesn't have much longer. A couple of hours, tops."

"I see." Sakura presses her head down to Kankuro's chest, just above my hands. She listens for several long moments, before nodding. "We're definitely dealing with a heavy metal-based poison. It's the kind that attacks muscle tissue, destroying the cells' integrity."

The medics look astonished. "You were able to learn all that…in one look?"

Sakura holds out her hand expectantly. "May I see his charts?"

"Yes, of course, here it is." One of the medics hands over a clipboard. "We were getting a breakdown of the poison, but there's still quite a few blanks."

Sakura looks over the chart. "I know just what'll happen. The cardiac muscle will be weakened to the point where the heart will collapse and cease functioning altogether. It's doubtful we'll be able to come up with an antidote in time."

"What are you saying?" Temari's eyes grow wide with panic. "There's nothing you can do!?"

"Well, normally, I would agree with that, but…" I move around and place my hands firmly on Kankuro's shoulders, before glancing at Sakura. "I can buy you another…twelve, maybe thirteen hours at least, maybe twenty-four at most. Can you work with that?"

Sakura looks to me, then nods, before turning to the medics. "I'm going to need a few things, and I'm going to need them quickly. This is going to be pretty crude, but it's the only option we have."

"Right." The medics stand at the ready, just waiting for an order.

I take a deep breath, my chakra flowing out into the room, before focusing in on Kankuro. "Then I'm going to use the same technique on him that I used during Lee's surgery. I'm going to activate all of the cells in his body at once, and I'll direct the cell replication as needed. Take that time to get your first measures ready."

"Right." Sakura turns to move towards another door, leading to what looks like a lab. The medics move to follow her.

* * *

Over the next hour and a half, I sustain Kankuro's life, waiting for Sakura to stop sending the medics running for various ingredients. And eventually, all becomes quiet. That's either a very good sign, or a very bad sign.

It's a good sign. Sakura emerges from the room with the medics, buckets of a clear solution in hand, as well as a few empty buckets. She looks to me gratefully, before turning to the medics. "Hold him down and don't let him move. This part of the procedure is not going to be easy for him." Six of us clamp down on him. Three medics, Kankuro's old teacher, as well as me and his sister. Meanwhile, Sakura reaches into the solution, making a large bubble of it adhere to her hand, before pressing it down to Kankuro's chest. "Here goes."

Kankuro tries to escape the treatment, put I hold his shoulders down firmly, pinning him to the bed while Sakura forces the solution into his body. Then, as she pulls it out the other side of his chest, where the wound is, a sickly purple fluid is suspended within it.

Temari looks at it in slight terror. "What's that? Is that the poison?"

"Looks like…" And now that Sakura has extracted all of the poison from his heart, I direct my healing energy there, restoring and rebuilding the muscle.

Sakura sighs and lets it drop into the empty container. "Another!"

"Right!" One of the medics takes the tainted solution, exchanging it for a fresh batch, which Sakura then takes and applies to Kankuro's abdomen, drawing the poison from his liver, stomach and pancreas.

Over and over, she takes the poison out, and I redirect my energy to healing the damaged organs. It's working well, and by the end of it, Kankuro is nearly purged of the poison.

Finally, Sakura sighs and backs away. "There, I've removed most of the poison. That should put him out of any immediate danger. And this way, Ciara can regenerate his cells without them breaking down again."

"Yeah, I can definitely do that much now." The glow intensifies once more as it envelops his body, regenerating cells all over the place.

Naruto races into the room, grinning. "Way to go, you did it!" Meanwhile, Temari leans back against the wall, looking rather faint as she slides down it and clutches t her heart. She must really have been on the verge of losing her mind over this.

"But he's not completely out of the woods yet." I shoot a knowing look at Sakura.

She nods. "I have to put together an antidote to purge the remaining traces of toxin still in his body."

"I see." The older sensei nods. "Anything you need, don't hesitate to ask."

"Well, first I'll need a list of all the medicinal herbs that you have in this village." A logical first step for Sakura. "And we should change these bandages for new ones."

"I'll do that." I reach for my medical kit and pull out an antiseptic, some ointment, and a sealed roll of sterile bandages. "With an injury like this, it's better to be too careful. And get an IV drip over here. He's been out of it for three days, so he's dehydrated and lacking in nutrients. As soon as he's well enough to eat and drink, he's going to need lots of water, nutritious food, and some vitamin and mineral supplements, just in case." And I get to work on disinfecting and treating the wound, before sealing it up and covering it with new bandages.

"Yes, and I want some of the toxin I extracted set aside for later. I'll be needing it later." Sakura and I seamlessly transition from one of us giving orders, to the other. And despite being foreigners, the medics heed our orders without question.

The old woman walks over to the table, and I glance out of the corner of my eyes as she approaches Sakura. "You remind me of the old Slug Queen, Tsunade. Isn't it strange, you turning up in our village like this?"

Sakura finishes putting down her hair and smile. "Well, after all, Lady Tsunade is my teacher. And it was by her order that I personally came here."

I snort with laughter. "Yeah, and I'm the tag-along who happened to be in the room at the time. Lucky for Kankuro. Though I think I preferred healing him when he let a sentient sword bite his shoulder. At least then, he was still strong enough to carry me on his back while I healed him."

One of the medics returns with a list of medicinal ingredients, and Sakura walks off with two of the medics in tow. Meanwhile, Naruto is making a bit of a ruckus in the hall. But that doesn't deter me from my mission.

Breathing out carefully, I place one of my hands on Kankuro's forehead, pumping chakra in there as well. And in just a few moments, I see the telltale twitch that I was looking for. "Good morning, Kankuro. Did you sleep well?"

He groans and stirs a bit more, his mouth opening slightly, along with his eyes. "Wha…"

"Kankuro, are you alright?" Temari draws his attention, leaning over him just as I'd expect a concerned older sibling to do.

"Temari…" Well, at the very least, he can recognize people. "You're back already." And Kankuro seems coherent enough to remember things, like how Temari was in the Leaf for a while.

She nods. "I heard the village was in trouble."

"I'm sorry to be such a bother." Okay, either this guy has gotten a lot humbler than the last time I saw him, or he's an idiot.

Temari seems to be thinking along the same lines. "You're not. Don't be ridiculous."

Kakashi looks rather satisfied by Kankuro's recovery, before addressing the puppetmaster's teacher. "Can you take me to where Kankuro's fight took place? I'm known for having a pretty good nose for tracking. If even the slightest trace of their scent remains on the scene…"

"There's no need for that." Kankuro forces himself into a sitting position. "Where are my puppets? I assume that my puppets were recovered, right?"

I click my tongue irritably. "You know, you shouldn't push yourself so hard. You almost died, you're allowed to lie down."

He shakes his head and waits as his puppets are brought in. "Bring Crow here." And as instructed, the medics bring that rather familiar puppet over. "One fought with me, while the other carried Gaara away. You might be able to track Gaara's scent, but you can definitely track the one I fought. I made sure of it." His voice is rough and gravelly at best. He sounds like he's got a couple toads down his throat. Then, he points down at one of Crow's hands. "You see? I've got his scent right here." And the hand opens up to reveal a piece of torn black cloth. "The last thing I did was make sure I got a scrap of his clothing."

Kakashi reaches for the cloth, holding it between his fingers. "Even in defeat, you went down fighting. Just what I'd expect from a Sand shinobi."

Kankuro smiles, then groans in pain, holding his newly bandaged stomach. Temari panics. "Kankuro, what is it!?"

Kankuro looks up to see Naruto standing at the end of the bed, and his expression becomes serious. "Is that…Naruto Uzumaki?"

Naruto beams at him. "Hey there."

"Hey, I wanna say hi too!" I touch Kankuro's shoulders, sending another jolt of chakra through him.

He doesn't even look at me at first, only flinching slightly. "Ciara?" Then, he turns around, frowning. "Wait…you're not-"

"I am." It's funny that his eyes didn't recognize what the rest of him did. "I grew up, didn't I? Long story, I'll tell you another time."

"Right…" He looks away from me, his eyes back on Naruto. He's almost as fixated as his brother always seemed to be.

There's a puff of smoke near Kakashi, and out of it appears a whole pile of ninja dogs. And at the top of the pile is Pakkun. "At your service. Eight ninja hounds."

Naruto moves along to talk to the dogs. "Hey Pakkun!"

The dog seems more than a little surprised. "Is that you, Naruto!? Long time, no see!"

"Whoa, look at you, you haven't changed a bit." Naruto's right, you'd think that the dogs would at least look a bit older, but no, they're exactly the same as ever.

Naruto waves a hand around jokingly. "Hey, what're you talking about? I'm a lot taller for one thing."

"Alright, alright, let's skip the reunion." Kakashi interrupts them, holding out the scrap of cloth. "I need you guys to get on this right away." He kneels down and holds the cloth out as the hounds gather around to sniff at it. "Find out which way he went. Go on!"

All of the dogs disappear, and Naruto watches as Pakkun's tail is the last to disappear. "They won't let us down." Then, he turns back to us. "Okay, we move out as soon as Pakkun and his posse get back. So I say we start getting ready."

"Not so fast, Naruto." Kakashi chides him slightly for the excess enthusiasm. Not that I can blame either of them. I want to go as much as Naruto, but I know that we have to keep calm, at least for the moment.

"Kankuro." The old wrinkly ones stride back into the room.

My patient looks more than a little surprised by the visitors. "Lady Chiyo and Lord Ebizo? You're here?"

The woman nods. "There's something we must know, and only you can tell us. Am I correct in thinking that one of your opponents, the one you fought with, was Sasori?"

When Kankuro lowers his head, the old man addresses him. "Well, speak up, Kankuro."

"Yes." Kankuro looks up slightly. "It was Sasori of the Red Sand. He told me so himself."

"Sasori of the Red Sand, huh?" Kakashi steps towards them calmly. "I get the feeling you know something about this Akatsuki. Will you tell us?"

I roll my eyes and focus my attention back onto Kankuro. "If you guys re done distressing my patient, I'd like to get back to healing him now. If I don't, he's not going to be in any shape to walk for another week."

"Ah, of course." Kakashi quiets down, watching patiently as I go about healing Kankuro's extensive internal injuries.

The sun is long down by the time Sakura comes back in with a vial, a cup, and a teapot. "Alright, I have an antidote, as well as some medicinal tea for you to drink it with."

I nod, letting Kankuro up so that he can steady himself as Sakura pours the tea and adds the antidote. Then, she holds up the cup and brings it to his lips, one of his hands grabbing it as the first of the hot liquid passes his lips. He cringes, but doesn't stop drinking for even a second.

Sakura approves, tilting the teacup a little more. "That's right, drink it all." Then, once the cup is finished, Sakura puts it back down. "There, you should be alright now. Just lie back and rest, and don't move around until the numbness passes."

"All of you are going to need rest as well after your journey. We've prepared rooms for you." It looks like Baki, I think Kankuro called him while he was waking up, has gone ahead and foreseen our needs.

Naruto, though, is as stubborn as always. "But we've gotta go after Gaara."

Kakashi completely disregards Naruto's words. "Thanks, we'll take you up on your offer." Then, he eyes the rest of us. "We may have to travel far and fast tomorrow."

Despite his own desires, Naruto's eyes prove that he sees the logic in the argument. "Alright, you win."

Kankuro starts to tremble, so I put my hands back on his shoulders, pressing my fingers into the muscles of his back, using chakra to knead the tension out of them. After all of the massages that Naruto's given me, and the ones I've practiced on him in return, I know just where to press to ease out a lot of tension.

His voice barely a whisper, Kankuro speaks up. "Naruto…save my little brother, will you?

"Don't worry, I will." Naruto grins determinedly. "After all, I'm gonna be Hokage someday. And for now, the Kazekage can just owe me one."

I burst out laughing. "Well, I guess that's one way to earn political favors." Then, I press harder on the tightly coiled muscles. "But yeah, we'll get him back, definitely. And the ones who took him…well, they're gonna pay for it. And the rest of the Akatsuki will learn not to kidnap the people we care about."

"Right…" Kakashi crosses his arms. "Well, it's about time we hit the hay. We'll need to rest up for tomorrow. Naruto, come on."

One of the medics steps forward. "I can take your to your room." Kakashi nods, and the medics hurries out into the hallway, followed closely by Naruto and Kakashi.

One of the other medics walks over between me and Sakura. "If the two of you will follow me, I can take you to your room as well."

"That would be great…" Sakura sounds pretty tired, and I certainly can't begrudge her that.

But I'm a different story. "I'll go to sleep later. Right now, I have a patient to tend to. I'll be done soon, though." Sakura looks at me strangely, so I smile, despite having blown up at her yesterday. "It's alright, I'll be along in half an hour, an hour tops."

"Okay…" Her jade eyes leave me as she walks out of the emergency room.

As the remaining people in the room file out, I press my fingers back into Kankuro's shoulders. "Do you think you can lie on your stomach? Or would that be too painful for you?"

Kankuro blinks, then moves around a bit, wincing slightly as he moves away and turns over. "I can handle it."

"Alright." He's being a bit more stubborn than I would like, but this should help with his recovery. "I'm going to give you a massage and try to activate some of the pressure points in your muscles to release endorphins. I'd rather not put you on any more medication, seeing as I don't know how that would react with the traces of antidote in your system, but this is a natural way of numbing pain, and it should help your muscles heal faster too, once they're not so wound up."

"I see." He nods his head slightly as he lies face down, head tilted to the side. "Go ahead, then."

"Right." I trail my fingers down his back, feeling for anything worrying, and finding nothing to be particularly concerned about. Then, I press the heels of my palms down, rubbing slow circles into his back as I begin the therapeutic massage. "You know, Naruto had to do this for me while we were off training. I had to do it for him too. He'd always push himself too hard, and end up straining his muscles. I was dealing with growing pains, so he did it to try and relieve some of the pain."

Kankuro nods, his eyes becoming a bit unfocused. "You look…different."

I resist the urge to snicker at him. "Yes, I do, don't I? That, Kankuro, is what puberty does to someone. I was a late bloomer, but about a year ago, I decided that enough was enough, and I tinkered around with my hormones with a bit of help, and I sent myself into a rapid growth spurt."

"So that's it…" He takes a deep breath, deep enough that I can feel the whole motion under my fingers. "He grew too…Naruto Uzumaki."

That makes me laugh. "Yeah, he did. Though it's still hard to believe how much we both shot up. And I can just about look him straight in the eye now. The height difference is almost gone." I remember the day when I finally looked into Naruto's eyes, and shocked him when he saw that we were both standing, rather than sitting. "It's been a rough couple of years, but we're back."

"Yeah…" He sighs. "And just in time, too…" He seems to be falling asleep under my hands, so I carefully turn him back over so that he can sleep on his back.

Passing a chakra-filled palm over him one more time, I smile before walking out the door. "Sleep well and heal well, Kankuro. We'll be back with Gaara before you know it."


	5. We Meet Again

**Okay, this starts off kinda canon, but then it takes a sharp turn up into space before sort of returning to canon, and shooting off again. If you wanted to see Ciara and Itachi come face to face again, you're in luck. Because that's what's next. Screw the genjutsu battle, it's time to go for a fun twist to that skill. Also...angst and nightmares. One of my favorite things to torture characters with.**

 **Also, to remind you all, Ciara's maternal grandparents are a Nara and a Hyuga. On the other side, she's got an Uchiha grandparent, her grandmother Akane. But of her four grandparents, she takes after her paternal grandfather (and father) most.**

 **As for the genjutsu song earlier, since there's been no one placing it, it's "Hajimari no Kaze" from Saiunkoku Monogatari. I like the series, it's very nice.**

* * *

I'm up and ready to go just before daybreak. So, I take it as one more chance to make sure that Kankuro is doing alright, before we head out. And with that, I sneak over to the emergency room and flick on a single light s that I can see what I'm doing, but not wake up Kankuro.

Approaching the table, I run my hands along his skin, my chakra reaching out to examine his insides. I breathe a sigh of relief at what I find. He's still weak, but without the toxin in his body, and the long healing sessions yesterday, he's well on his way to recovery.

With that in mind, I head outside, where Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi are getting ready to go. "All set?"

Kakashi looks back at me, nodding. "Just about." Then, a bird arrives, landing on Kakashi's arm. It's got a note with it, so he removes it and unrolls it, reading it quickly. "Seems we'll be working on conjunction with a squad from the Sand Village. As soon as they're here, we'll head out."

"Good, we might need some backup." I'm not naive enough to think that going in without backup is a good idea. We have no idea just how many Akatsuki we might run into while getting Gaara back. It's better to be safe than sorry. Then, I catch sight of Temari out of the corner of my eye. "Looks like they're here."

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Temari approaches with four other Sand ninja. And from the looks of it, one of them is Matsuri, and she has a headband tied around her neck. _So…Gaara's student graduated to being a genin, at least. Though judging by the vest, I'd say she might even made chunin._

Naruto grins at the sight. "Okay, there's no time to waste! Let's get this show on the road!" He bends down, stretching out his muscles in anticipation of a fast journey.

"Wait!" Baki drops from a nearby building and lands right next to our two groups. "Temari, you and your group are to stay here and patrol the perimeter."

"Are you kidding me, or what?" Temari's face twists into an angry scowl.

Baki shake his head. "Orders from above. If word gets out that the Kazekage is missing, our enemies may use it as an opportunity to launch an attack on the village."

Temari bristles at the though of leaving her little brother out there, and I don't blame her. "Don't you get it, that's all the more reason we have to get him back as quickly as we can!" She points to our group. "Look at these Leaf ninja! They left their village and came all the way here just to help us rescue Gaara! And Gaara's not even their leader, he's our Kazekage! The Sand shinobi should be the ones to save him!"

Baki looks down in shame. "I'm sorry."

"Well, I'm going!" Everyone looks up onto the nearest building to see that old woman, Chiyo, I think she was called, standing on the roof of the hospital. "If a Sand shinobi is needed, then I'm the one to go."

"Granny Chiyo?" Temari's name for her makes me want to have my palm go on a date with my face. _Another granny…great…_

Seems like Baki can't quite believe his eyes. "B-but you're so-"

I'm retired, yes…which means, of course, that I'm free to do whatever I want." She's got a good point, but still, should we really be taking an old woman into battle? _I hope she's got some crazy ninjutsu skills…because I doubt she'd win any kind of taijutsu battle._

One of Temari's squad looks up in concern. "Yes, but…the journey will be difficult."

"Bah! Don't treat me like a fossil!" She leaps off the roof of the building, sailing down towards us, and landing crouched on the ground right in front of us. "After all, it's been a while since I've doted on my adorable grandchild."

 _Grandchild…?_ Something seems a bit weird to me about that. _Wait, does she mean that Akatsuki who fought Kankuro? It was…Sasori of the Red Sand, right?_ Still, we're burning daylight. "In any case, we should get moving. The Akatsuki aren't going to just sit around and wait for us."

"Alright, we'll head out on our own, then." Kakashi agrees, knowing that we're really racing the clock now. We don't have time to sit around and wait for a council of elders to change their minds.

"Thank you…I'll try to convince the council to change their mind." So Baki says, but I don't have much hope that they'll do it quickly enough to matter.

Temari seems to have a bit more hope, though. "Don't worry, we'll catch up with you."

Naruto smirks. "By the time you catch up with us, we'll have already rescued Gaara."

"Yeah, but maybe, if you hurry, you might be able to help bring him home." I smile at Temari, then glance towards the hospital, now hidden behind the stone walls surrounding the village. "And make sure that Kankuro rests. He'd going to need his strength."

"Of course." Baki accepts the pseudo-order as we head off. I just hope that he makes sure that someone follows it, despite how stubborn I know Kankuro can be. He'll probably try to be up and about by the end of the day, if the last time I healed him is any indication.

Getting some distance from the Sand Village, we head back across the desert and into the forests of the Land of Rivers, where Pakkun tracked the Akatsuki and Gaara to.

Unlike before, Sakura seems a little more subdued today. "Naruto, can I ask you a question?" Naruto doesn't say a word, only looks at her. So, she asks. "How long do you think the Akatsuki have been after you?"

Okay, now that's a tough question. Naruto grits his teeth. "I don't know."

So, Kakashi answers. "Two members of the Akatsuki came to the Leaf looking for Naruto, once. But it's been three years since then, and no signs of them. And now…they're back. And what's worse this time, is that the last time they found Naruto…they found out about Ciara as well, isn't that right?"

Nodding slowly, I look back at them. "They didn't seem to know I existed until they came to the inn looking for Naruto. I put myself between him and them, and because of that, they figured it out."

Sakura swallows nervously. "But why do you think they waited so long to make another move?"

Kakashi thinks about it for a few long moments. "It could be that they wanted to act before this, but fr some reason, they couldn't. Maybe because Master Jiraiya was around and they didn't want to face him. Maybe because they didn't know that two of their targets were so close together, and that was a battle that they didn't like the odds of."

"That's not it." I look back at the old woman, frowning at her words. _If that's not it, then what the hell happened? We got almost three whole years of peace from the Akatsuki after that._ "From what I've learned, there was an entirely different reason they had to wait this long. If you're going to try and draw out the Tailed Beast that dwells within, a great deal of preparation is involved. They just needed some more time."

 _Draw out the Tailed Beasts?_ "You mean…they're removing them from their hosts?" I hope I'm wrong, and that's not what she actually means. She nods.

Sakura frowns. "What do you mean? What Tailed Beasts?" Obviously, our explanation a few days ago was insufficient for her. Though it seems that she's going to get one now.

"My, my, you're a student of that old slug queen, Tsunade, and you don't even know that?" Chiyo sounds distinctly unimpressed. "When the Leaf itself is host to the Nine-Tailed Fox?"

Kakashi looks back warningly. "The Nine-Tailed Fox spirit's not something we talk about. It's considered top secret."

"Really? Well, not surprising, I guess. Tailed Beasts are demon spirits with one or more tails." Sounds like she's about to get started on a history lesson. "The Sand has had a single tailed beast since long ago. That's the Shukaku, sealed within Gaara."

"So then, there's more of these demon spirits?" I can almost smell the fear on Sakura now.

"Oh yes, there are a total of nine of them in the world. Each with different characteristics, and each with a different number of tails. The demon beast of the Sand with its single tail, a two-tailed spirit, a three-tailed, and so on, all the way up to the Nine-Tailed Fox of the Leaf. The beasts are huge concentrations of chakra, and during the Great War, every nation competed over them for military purposes. They fought relentlessly over them, but the Tailed Beasts' powers were beyond human imagining. No one could control them." Well, it sounds like she knows a few things, but…not everything, since her math is off. "I don't know the intentions of the Akatsuki, but that kind of power is far too dangerous for anyone to get ahold of. Eventually, with the coming of peace, the Tailed Beasts were forgotten. But nevertheless, all nine of them still exist, scattered over the world."

My eyes flash into their sunburst colors. "You know, since you're an old lady, I guess you're just forgetting one. There's ten, not nine."

I can hear the frown in her voice. "There are nine, child. Wherever did you come up with a tenth tailed beast?"

My eyes fade back quickly as I grab hold of my temper. "I think you'll see soon enough."

As we hit the ground running, Kakashi skids to s stop. "Everybody, stop!" And at his command, everyone else skids to a stop.

In front of us stands… "Chi-chi." My eyes focus in on him, widening slightly. "Itachi…what are you doing here?"

"Ciara…" His eyes sweep over me, as though taking in every detail. "You've grown up. You favor your father now in looks, and in strength as well. Lord Ryouta would be proud."

Of course Itachi would be the one person to recognize me on sight. I bite my lip, sadness and confusion bubbling up inside of me. "I would hope so. But I guess I'll never know for sure."

Chiyo walks up behind me, scrutinizing Itachi. "So…that's the child who wiped out his entire clan."

There's no reaction from my uncle at those words, and his eyes shift slightly behind me. "Kakashi, Naruto, it's been a while."

Kakashi taps my shoulder, then squeezes it. "Ciara, you're the fastest one here, I want you to go on ahead and scout around for Gaara and the Akatsuki hideout. We'll handle things here."

I want to whirl around and tell Kakashi to piss off, but I hold my tongue, locking eyes with a pair the color of crimson petals. "Fine." And out of sight of everyone else, I mouth two words, knowing that Itachi can still read them.

Find me.

And I race off into the trees, away from the battle, disappearing in an instant. Kakashi was right when he said that I was the fastest in the group. Flickering away, I'm over a kilometer away in twenty seconds.

There, I wait. I feel the wind, listen to the fluttering of the leaves in the trees, and then…a flap of wings. There's a bird. When I turn to look at it, I see a crow with wings as black as night. I've seen that crow before on my windowsill at home.

"Itachi…" Now it all makes sense, he must have been spying on me hen I was younger. "Just remember that genjutsu doesn't work on me, so even if you use those eyes of yours to try and pull a fast one, it won't work." Not that I really believe he'll pull a fast one on me. Someone else, definitely, but not me.

The crow disappears in a puff of smoke, leaving a very familiar face in its place. "Ciara."

I watch him carefully, but just like the last time, I can feel no hostility, no malice, nothing negative at all from him. "I've missed you."

He stays silent a moment, looking me over almost…warily. "Tell me…what is to stop me from taking you back to the Akatsuki right now?"

"The fact that you still care about me." It's obvious, at least to me. "Otherwise you would have done it the first time, without hesitating. Or you would have just told me to go with you, not explaining why, and I would have followed without question. You didn't. And I don't feel like you're going to hurt me. I'm one to trust my instincts."

"I see…" He looks down to my waist. "Your swords…" It's no wonder that he recognizes them, after all, he used one of them himself once upon a time ago.

"The last gifts you ever gave me, along with your ANBU mask." There's no point in hiding anything from him. He's as smart as they come. "I've been carrying them with me since a little while after I graduated from the academy. It's like…you and Shisui are protecting me every time I go into battle." And that's the truth. "Now, I know for a fact that you're not going to hurt me, so let's skip over ten minutes of you trying to convince me that you still could, and get to the good stuff. I'd rather not have you insult either my intelligence, or my instincts."

His eyes turn red, and I can almost sense a genjutsu washing out into the clearing. So, I sing a genjutsu right back at him, a different one this time, and one verse in, everything around us swirls into a mess of colors, darkening, before growing light again.

I smirk upon seeing our surroundings. "I told you that genjutsu didn't work on me. Though…it looks like you were at least strong enough to get inside my head." The wind swirls past me, and my smirk fades into a smile. I'm in control of this place. "So…now that we have almost complete privacy, what questions should I ask? Should I ask about you supposedly murdering your entire clan on a whim? Shisui included? Or should I ask about the night that you visited me, disappeared, and then never reappeared until a whole five years later. Should I ask you what you're doing with the Akatsuki when you clearly don't want to hurt me?" I know that it's not nice to back him into that kind of corner, but I want answers.

He watches me calmly, but there's something…a spark in his eyes that's hard to place. Sadness? Regret, maybe? "I see that your instincts are serving you well…too well. And to resist such a genjutsu…your Shiryugu blood may dominate you, but it seems that your Uchiha blood flows strongly there as well."

"Of course they serve me well." I put my hands on my hips defiantly. "I am your little dragon, after all. Uchiha blood or not."

There's an even greater shine to his eyes now, but there's still something wrong, and his Sharingan fades away. "Yes, I suppose you are…" His eyes watch me, but they seem considerably less focused now.

Nevertheless, I approach him, closing the distance step by step. "Itachi, tell me…why did you leave? And why do people keep saying that you murdered your clan? Why would a pacifist kill so many people? Someone so full of love…commit such a hateful crime? What happened, Itachi?"

"I killed them." He doesn't move, but he doesn't deny it in the slightest. "They died by my hand."

"And Shisui? Did you kill him too?" I already know the answer, whatever he tells me.

"I gained the Mangekyo Sharingan with his death." Itachi at least confirms Shisui's death for me. But…I know that he's not the one who killed Shisui.

I sigh, feeling the hole in my heart open up a little more. "So he's really dead then…I figured so…" I only held out a tiny bit of hope. But I knew that it wasn't a realistic scenario. "But you didn't kill him. You would never kill him. You loved him as much as I did." I stare at him, staring into eyes that most others would probably be too scared to. "And that's why you're not going to hurt me either."

"You are awfully sure of yourself." Itachi's gaze wavers strangely, almost like…he's having trouble seeing me. The medical ninja in me latches onto that detail immediately.

 _Wait…he said that he had a Mangekyo Sharingan, right?_ All four of my Dad's siblings did too, if I remember it right. It was so long ago that it's hard to be sure. _I'll have to go snooping for some diaries later…_ But one thing that stuck out was that Dad once warned his oldest brother not to strain his eyes or… "Itachi…are you going blind?"

His eyes widen slightly, before narrowing again. "You're thinking about when Lord Ryouta cautioned his brother about overusing his eyes, aren't you?" I nod. "I see…then yes, I have been overusing my eyes…and I am losing my sight." Thankfully, it looks like he's not going to be quite so evasive now.

Still, if I want to get him to talk… "You can say whatever you like here, no one but Suzaku can hear us. And he won't listen in if I don't want him to. And yes, I was thinking about my uncle. But…I'm a medical ninja, so I could see well enough that your eyes are unfocused…not as sharp as they are with the Sharingan active. You could probably get away with it in front of most people, even most medics. But I know you better than that. I know how sharp your eyes were when I was little. Clearly, that's been deteriorating for a while. Now, why don't you tell me exactly how you feel when you look at me? Am I still your little dragon?"

He's even more silent now than he was before. Then, he raises his hand, and gestures for me to come closer. I smile and obey, walking towards him until we're standing less than a foot apart. Then, he smiles softly. "My little dragon, huh…?"

I return the smile, reaching out and wrapping my arms around him. "I've missed you so much, Itachi…you have no idea…" He was one of my anchors, and he was ripped away from me. I've never gotten over that.

"I'm sorry…but you can't tell anyone. You know that, don't you?" His words make me want to hit him and start screaming. It's not fair.

I feel a hand on my hair, and I press my face to his clothes. Not an Akatsuki cloak anymore, but a dark, short-sleeved shirt with a high collar, what he used to wear when he came to visit. "Itachi…please…tell me where Gaara is. I can't let anything happen to him. He and Naruto…they mean so much to me."

His fingers rake through my bangs, tilting my head back to look down at me. "I have no intention of taking Naruto. But as for the host of the One-Tail, Gaara…I'm sorry."

"You're…sorry?" My blood runs cold at his words. "What do you mean!? Where's Gaara!?"

"I have to go." His arms squeeze me tightly, nearly crushing me to his chest. "Goodbye, my little dragon." A pair of lips press gently to my forehead, before vanishing entirely.

When I open my eyes again, I'm alone in the clearing, and Itachi is nowhere to be seen. Damn it…not again… I punch a tree, shattering the bark. "Itachi…why? What's going on?" Everything I've been wondering about, and all of the assumptions made by my instincts are only solidifying in my mind. After all…Itachi could never be cruel to me.

Except by leaving me alone again.

I raise a hand to my eyes, not at all surprised when it comes away wet. The tears streaming down my cheeks only just started, but I feel like I've been crying them for years.

Still, there's no time to waste. Itachi had said that he was sorry about Gaara. And in that tone…it can only mean one thing. _They're killing him. The Akatsuki is killing Gaara!_

Racing back through the woods, catching just a hint of Gaara's chakra lingering in the air, I memorize my path as I head back towards the others. And it's not long before they come into sight.

But when I find them, what I see clad in Akatsuki robes is, thankfully, not Itachi's body. "What…?" I get closer, staring at the body.

Kakashi sighs. "It's an impressive jutsu they've got."

Chiyo is writing something on a scroll, her eyes flicking back every few seconds to the body. "For them to use a jutsu like this to stall for time means only one thing, it's worse than I thought. The extraction of the Tailed Beast has already begun.

Kakashi nods. "We're out of time, we need to get to Gaara right away."

"So…wait, hold on." Sakura raises her hand to get Chiyo's attention. "What do you mean by extraction?"

Chiyo's face becomes grim. "They're after the Shukaku. If they draw out the One-Tail, they can create a new jinchuuriki."

"A new jinchuuriki?" Okay, I guess it's reasonable that Sakura doesn't know about this stuff. After all, she trained under Tsunade, not Jiraiya. She wasn't with either of us.

"I told you, didn't I? How the Tailed Beasts possess power beyond all reckoning? And how every land has tried to use them as military weapons?" Chiyo's words seems to be sinking in, at least for now. "The jinchuuriki is the name given to those who control that power."

Sakura frowns. "But, earlier, you said that their power was beyond imagining, that no one could control them."

"Not for lack of trying." Chiyo stops writing and closes her eyes. "There were, of course, those who tried to harness that great power for their own purposes. To control the beasts by sealing them away inside of people. By doing so, they hoped to suppress the Tailed Beasts' great power. And then bend that might to their will. The ones with the Tailed Beasts sealed inside them, such as our own village's Gaara…are known as jinchuuriki. Jinchuuriki wield unimaginable power, thanks to their resonance with the beasts they carry. And if you count Gaara, then all told, there have been three jinchuuriki in the history of the Sand Village thus far." Upon finishing up with her report, she summons a small clockwork bird from a scroll, giving it the report and winding up the toy. And then she lets it fly away.

Sakura's face gets an expression on it that I don't like. "There were several wars fought using the jinchuuriki wasn't there?"

The old woman nods. "That's correct."

"And the people who become jinchuuriki-" She grows quiet. "Alright then, how are the Tailed Beasts extracted?"

Naruto's eyes grow wide and fearful, and I can see his hands starting to shake. So I grab hold of one, squeezing it tightly, and fighting down my own surging panic. _Why…why the hell does she want to know how to rip Tailed Beasts out of us!?_

Chiyo sighs. "A couple of things are needed. A sealing jutsu strong enough to counter the Tailed Beast's power, and a lot of time. But for things to reach that point…the jinchuuriki…"

"You don't mean-" Thankfully, Sakura cuts herself off before she says it, because I'm about five seconds from going ballistic.

Chiyo, on the other hand, has no desire to censor herself. "That's right, dear. Once the Tailed Beast is extracted, they die. The others I mentioned, the jinchuuriki who came before Gaara, we extracted the Shukaku from them as well and both died as a result."

Naruto squeezes my hand back, then smiles sadly. "You always were quick to cry, huh, Sakura?" Then, when she looks at him, he smiles more. "Hey, don't worry, I promise I'm going to save Gaara."

At hearing his name, my restraint breaks. I turn on heel and sprint for the trees, not even caring that I'm the only one moving. Gaara is not going to die. He can't!

It's not long before I hear racing steps behind me, and then Naruto's voice. "Wait up!"

"No!" How can he possibly ask me that? "I'm not waiting, Gaara needs us now! And there's no way in hell that I'm leaving him to the Akatsuki!"

That shuts Naruto up in a hurry, and he keeps pace with me, despite how ridiculous it is. I know I'm going too fast, but my adrenaline is at an all-time high, and my heart is pounding in utter fear. I can feel traces of his chakra scattered about, but they're growing fainter and fainter. And I don't know how much longer I'll be able to keep track of them.

* * *

It's sunset when Kakashi finally calls it quits. "Stop here!" He's on the ground, forcing us to land as well.

Naruto turns around, slightly panicked. "Why? What is it Kakashi-Sensei? What's wrong?"

"We're taking a short break." His suggestion makes my hair stand up. We've got no time, we're racing the clock, and if we don't make it…

Chiyo agrees. "That's a very wise decision."

"What do you mean!?" Naruto sprints up to Kakashi, looking about as panicked as I feel. "Come on, you were the one who said we couldn't waste any more time! If we just lay around here doing nothing, Gaara's gonna be-"

"Naruto!" Kakashi's in no nonsense mode now. "Our pace has slowed since we faced off against that bogus Itachi."

"He's absolutely right, Naruto." Sometimes, I really just wish that Sakura would shut her trap.

"If we take the time to rest up now, we'll ultimately reach our destination faster." Kakashi's logic may be sound, but that's not saving Gaara now. "Keep in mind, tomorrow, we may be facing the guys who kidnapped Gaara. We'll need our full strength."

I let out a long string of curses under my breath as I toss my bag to the ground, setting up something for me to use as a pillow, no matter how uncomfortable it is.

And honestly, I wish I hadn't.

* * *

 _My body hurts, it hurts so much. Then, I open my eyes to see that girl again, Fuu. I've been seeing her for months. The one with the mint-green hair and the eyes as orange as Naruto's old jumpsuit._

 _She looks terrified, until she sees me. Then, she reaches out, nearly crying. "Help me, please! Help me!"_

 _I reach out for her, but that's when her piercing screams rip through the air, echoing as I close my eyes again. I've heard those screams so many times…the screams that haunt my dreams, along with Yagura's pleas._

 _That's when it changes. No longer is it Fuu standing before me, but a young man with blood-red hair and seafoam eyes. Gaara._

 _He reaches out for me, a calm expression on his face. "Ciara…"_

 _"Gaara!?" I reach out to him, but no matter what I do, I'm stuck, I can;t reach him. "Gaara! Where are you!? Tell me!"_

 _He just watches me calmly. "They're coming. You must run. You and Naruto must run far away."_

 _My eyes widen. "No…the Akatsuki!? They have you! Please tell me how to find you!"_

 _"Run…you must run far away from here." He starts to disappear into the darkness. "Leave this place and do not return."_

 _"Gaara!" I reach out for him as he disappears. "Gaara! GAARA! COME BACK GAARA! GAARA!"_


	6. One Less Jinchuuriki

**This chapter took longer because it's March, it's crunch time, assignments are due all over the place, and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. I was going to make this chapter longer, until I realized that if I didn't break it up here, it would go on for ages. Plus, I've been trying to fine-tune her emotions, because there's certain things I want in there, and certain things I don't. Like revenge. She doesn't DO revenge. She does super-duper over-protectiveness. I'll be expanding on that next chapter.**

 **Now, I probably don't really even have to make this distinction, but I will anyway, just to make sure no one has any questions about it. For example: If Ciara says and thinks all these things about the Akatsuki, then does that include Itachi too?**

 **Short answer: No.**

 **To Ciara, Akatsuki and Itachi are separate in her mind. To her, Itachi may 'technically' be an Akatsuki, doing their bidding and wearing their uniform, but he is not a 'threat' to her. The Akatsuki, on the other hand, are a huge 'threat'. To her, 'threat' and 'not a threat' are the distinction. Which means that when she refers to the Akatsuki, she is referring to all of them, minus Itachi. And when she thinks thoughts of anger, sadness, or of their elimination, she's thinking of all of them except for one.** **Because she loves her Chi-chi.**

 **Finally, her thoughts are going to be something of a mess this chapter, but I think that's forgivable, seeing as she's not in that great a place right now. She doesn't do stoic, and getting emotional really messes with her head.**

* * *

I hate waking up screaming. But most terrifyingly of all, I wake up screaming Gaara's name. Never before have I woken up screaming like that. Awake, and yet…so trapped. It's like I've been chained down in a dungeon half filled with honey. I can't move, can't escape. Hell, Ican barely breathe.

"Ciara! Wake up!" I can hear Naruto and feel him shaking me. "Wake up, dammit!" He shakes me harder, trying to rouse me.

My eyes flutter open, and I stare at him, terrified half out of my mind, gasping for breath. "N-Naruto…it's Gaara, he's-" My nightmares have been bad before, but they're not usually on this level unless they're about…that night.

Naruto pulls me against his chest, muffling my voice. "I know, we're gonna save him. We're going to leave again now. Kakashi-Sensei just told me to wake you up." _He had to wake me up? Was I really trapped that deeply in the nightmare?_ On the bright side…at least I wasn't subjected to seeing Han as well. I've been dreaming about him and Fuu for a lot longer than is healthy. And I don't even know why.

He pulls me to my feet, and I glance over at Kakashi, still shaking and terrified. "Are we-" I can't stay still, I have to do something. Anything. An idle body makes for an idle mind. And an idle mind allows dangerous thoughts to creep up on me.

He nods. "Your nightmare turned out to be a good alarm clock. Now, let's move." Well, at least my terror has some kind of use. _If only I could shut it off like an alarm clock…I need my sleep._

But there's nothing more to be said, and I strap on my bag as fast as I can, getting to my feet and taking off with the other four. We've got no time to waste. I just hope that it isn't too late. Because if it's too late… I once heard from my aunt Miko that dragons don't do grief well. And I don't want to find out what that means.

The sun is coming up as we run, and even as we move at high speed, we come across nothing that indicates enemy movement. There's something wrong. They should be trying to delay us. _Unless…no, it can't be!_

"They're confident they've delayed us long enough." It's like Kakashi read my mind, I hate it when he does that. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it always bodes ill. Because if he's thinking the same thing...that increases the chances all the more.

"Yes indeed, I'm starting to think the same thing." And I hate it when our elders agree. It can't possibly be good. One more bad omen to add to the pile.

"But that means-" And I just can't let Sakura say it. We do not need yet another bad omen. We've already jinxed ourselves more than enough.

"Don't! Don't even go there!" I don't want to hear it. I can't hear it right now. I know what the worst case scenario is, but after that nightmare…I just don't want to hear it. I can't handle it. My heart pounds painfully, fear starting to take over, and my vision flickering into color as warm chakra flows through me, trying to soothe me. And only succeeding slightly.

Naruto's own chakra flares, and he leaps on ahead. "Hang on, Gaara, we're coming."

"Naruto, not so fast!" Sakura speeds up only a little. "Wait up!"

The old crone speaks up, and I'm starting to get kind of sick of her voice. "Why is that boy trying so hard to save Gaara? He's not even from the same village. What is he? What's that boy's story?" _Nosy old hag...like you have any right to ask that._

Kakashi at least has the decency to hesitate first. "Naruto is a jinchuuriki as well. He has the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed within him. It's not that he has any special feelings for the Hidden Sand or its people. But he and Gaara are both jinchuuriki. Naruto knows how Gaara feels better than anyone in the Sand ever could. After all, those who are jinchuuriki are treated the same in every village. At least…as long as they're known to be jinchuuriki. Right, Ciara?"

"Tch." Of course he would say that. "That doesn't mean that I didn't get some of that pain for myself. After all, I've been attached to Naruto since we were kids. We protect each other, it's always been that way. I know what's in him, and he knows what's in me." I look back at them with sunburst eyes. "Remember that Tailed Beast that I said you forgot about?" Chiyo's eyes widen, along with Sakura's. "Well, right now, he's watching all of you through my eyes." And he is by far the calmer of the two of us.

Kakashi sighs. "And that's why the both of you have this desperate need to save Gaara. It doesn't matter if Gaara's from the Sand, the Leaf, or anywhere else. He's a friend, the only one whose felt the same pain that Naruto's felt, and that Ciara's felt by being Naruto's shield." He looks back over at me. "After all, you could have pretended…hidden away your power…stayed out of it all. But you didn't. You got yourself involved in Naruto's life, and took on the role of protecting him as much as you could. Even if that meant you could only glare at the people who hurt him."

My gaze grows cold as I look at them. "Well, someone had to. And I was the only one who cared enough to actually do anything." _Though speaking of doing something…I have a lot of room in my house…_ I snort derisively. "I can't wait to see the moment when people actually care enough to try to understand." Because it's a deep, dark pit of loneliness that has you pulling back, even when you want to make friends. It's the fear that if they know everything, they'll look at you with disgust, hatred. Even more than people already do. And that is enough to break a person. That's why only the people we trust know as much of the story as they do, which isn't much, in the end. Well, and now this old woman knows a thing or two.

Growing sick of the conversation, I jump on ahead, catching up to Naruto. He glances at me, keeping up the same rapid pace. "You ready?"

"Yeah…" I can feel Suzaku's power bleeding into my own, forcing me to calm down and think just a bit more logically. I'm still scared and worried, and angry, but with him watching over me, maybe I won't end up going off the rails. "These bastards are never going to know what hit them."

Suddenly, I can't feel even a tiny trace of Gaara's chakra anymore, and my eyes narrow on our rapidly approaching destination. Kakashi, Sakura, and Chiyo quickly catch up to us as we race over a small cliff, landing down on a river that encircles a rather suspicious looking pile of rock, with a gate and a sealing tag on it. If that doesn't scream bad guys' hideout, nothing does.

But…we've been beaten here, and a familiar face turns towards us, smirking. "Late as usual, Kakashi." Now this is a nostalgic sight, along with an extremely bushy pair of eyebrows. Actually, make that two pairs.

"Well, you see, we ran into a little trouble along the way." Kakashi lands on one knee, taking a moment to silently catch his breath after we ran at such an impossible pace.

"Naruto!" Lee recognizes one of us easily. "Sakura!" Make that two. Not that I expect him to recognize me right off the bat, no one else did, and his team wasn't there for our little luncheon.

Neji's eyes widen. "Naruto…" Then, they fall on, me, growing even wider as his Byakugan activates for a moment. "White chakra…Ciara?" Of course Neji would resort to using my chakra to identify me.

I nod, my eyes flicking between everyone, and only some of the red markings on my face obscured by my bangs. "It's been a while. And yes, I've grown a lot. Everyone's surprised at first."

"I wonder why…" Tenten scoffs dryly. "It's not like you turned into a totally different person while you were gone."

I smirk for just a moment. "Only on the outside."

"No kidding, I didn't even recognize you." Then, Tenten's attention shifts. "Who's the old lady?"

"Oh!" Sakura smiles. "This is Lady Chiyo, she's an advisor from the Sand Village." _In other words, a grumpy old lady with too many old-fashioned opinions._

"Very pleased to meet you." The words would be fine if she didn't smile and throw up a peace sign. I mean, really, seeing an old lady do that is weird.

"Well, let's do this, Kakashi." Gai looks up at the big tag on the boulder.

Kakashi looks up at the white and red tag as well. "Right." Obviously, we need to start training people in seals. But apart from Jiraiya, who isn't actually all that well-versed in seals, I've never actually seen anyone using any. _What's with that, anyway? Did people just forget how to use them or something?_

I stare at the boulder blocking our path, my eyes not showing me a damn thing, before raising my voice slightly. "Hey Neji, can you see what's in there? I can't feel Gaara's chakra right now, so I can't be sure that he's actually in there right now." And because I really don't want to come face to face with the worst case scenario.

"Of course." The veins around his eyes pop out slightly with the strain as he stares intently through the boulder. "Inside…it looks like there's a large cavern, but…I just can't quite make out what's going on in there. I see several people-"

"What about Gaara!?" Naruto starts shaking Neji, trying to get him to hurry up. "Is he one of the people you see!?"

Neji struggles against Naruto's grip, before throwing him off. "Back off a second, I'm trying to locate him now!"

He goes silent again, and Naruto's chakra pulses angrily. "Neji!" One of these days, Naruto and I are seriously going to have to work on his patience. Well, not that mine is much better in this situation. But at least I'm not harassing Neji and consequently slowing him down.

I catch Naruto arm and yank him towards me. "Dammit, Naruto, stop that! You're making it take longer!" And the last thing we need is this mission taking any longer than it has to.

Neji's wide eyes open wider. "I don't-" He gulps. "What is that thing?" That's…another bad omen. Anything that can stun Neji almost into silence can't be a good thing.

"Neji, what's going on!? Neji! What's in there!?" Naruto pulls his arms away from me and goes right back to shaking Neji, which is really not helping in the slightest.

Then, Neji freezes, his Byakugan deactivating. "Let go of me." And surprisingly, Naruto finally heeds his words.

"Well, what did you see." Sakura is too calm, whereas Naruto is too frantic. These extremes are starting to drive me just a little loopy now, as if my emotions weren't rolling around enough as is.

"It's…" Neji bows his head. "Hard to describe with words." That can't possibly be good. Neji is a genius, an eloquent genius. So no matter what he's looking at, he should be able to come up with the words he needs.

"Wait, so that would mean…" Tenten turns towards the locked cave entrance, looking at is as though looking through it.

Lee nods. "Yes. It means that whatever it is, we will have to go see it for ourselves."

"That makes things easy, doesn't it?" Gai smiles, before leaping back several times, getting a large amount of distance from the boulder. Then, he has the bright idea to charge in and punch the thing, when it probably weight as much as the Hokage tower, maybe even more. And his punch doesn't even get past the barrier in the first place.

Lee watches as his sensei retreats back to our line. "What is your plan?"

"Well, Lee, it's pretty obvious we need to get rid of that barrier." Gai says it so simply that…I'm pretty sure that whatever he's planning is going to go wrong almost immediately.

"And how do we do that?" I honestly can't blame Tenten for not knowing a ton about deals, after all, she's a weapons' specialist, not a sealing expert. _Now, if only we had an actual sealing expert with us…we really need to get one of those for the village._

Sakura frowns. "Before we can even think about breaking through, we should know what kind of barrier it is."

"That's right, so…" Gai looks up at the tag. "Figure out the type of barrier. That's step one, right Kakashi?"

"Yeah." Kakashi observes the seal's markings, obviously trying to place the design.

Chiyo is also looking at is, trying to figure it out. "What do you think?"

"It could be a five seal barrier." It's times like this that I really wish that Kakashi didn't wear that mask all the time. His face is impossible to read sometimes.

The old lady nods slightly, eyes trained on the tag. "Mmm…I agree with you."

 _Tell them that they are correct. This formula is indeed for a five-pronged barrier._ I'm a little startled to hear his voice in my head already, and without any prompting, but if Suzaku says something like that, I'd be wise to listen. "He says that you're right, it's a formula for a five tag barrier."

Kakashi glances at me, his visible eye only betraying a flicker of emotion. "Great…so we're dealing with a powerful protection spell. I'd guess…one where five tags with this word "Forbidden" on them are scattered around the area to protect what's in the middle. One is in front of us, and four more must be in other locations."

"Can't we just pull em off?" Gai raises something of a good point.

 _Hey…do you think that we could do the same with this barrier as that time when we took down that explosive perimeter barrier?_ I have to ask, it'll save us a lot of time if the answer is yes.

"It's not that simple. The tags are in five different places, and they have to be taken down at the exact same moment." Kakashi answers before I get one.

Suzaku concurs. _There is more to this barrier than meets the eye. The rules we are playing by are very different this time. It will not be removed so easily, even by the two of us._

"So we have to remove them simultaneously?" Sakura gets this much at least. It looks like she was just terribly ignorant about Tailed Beasts and Itachi, then.

Kakashi nods. "Right. The barrier wont budge unless all five tags are ripped off simultaneously. It's a tall order, that's only one tag." I look around, doing a head count. There's nine of us here, which means we have more than enough people needed to break the barrier.

Naruto pumps his fists in determination. "Alright then, let's do it. How do we figure out where the other tags are?"

Kakashi just shoots Neji a look, and he nods. "I understand." The Byakugan is activated in an instant, with Neji thoroughly scanning the entire area. "I found them! One is on a boulder about five hundred meters north-east of us. The second one is on a tree trunk beside a riverbank, three hundred and fifty meters south south-east. The third, you'll find six hundred and fifty meters north-west, on a cliff. And the last one is in the woods, less than eight hundred meters to the south-west."

"If that's the case, each one of them is pretty far apart." Sakura makes a good point. "How will we signal each other?"

Gai slips off his backpack. "I think I can handle that. We should just be in range…for these" He pulls a wireless microphone and earpiece out of his bag. "They're wireless radios."

"Wow, that's amazing!" Naruto's excitement is infectious, but I've still got a heavy weight in my stomach.

Gai smiles brightly and gives everyone that annoying thumbs up. "Alright, then we'll keep in constant communication and follow Neji's direction to the tags." They all start setting up their radios, and Gai just keeps on smiling. "Okay, let's find these tags and get rid of them. Team Gai is the faster team, so we'll be the ones to handle this mission."

Well, I could certainly debate that, since Naruto and I can be pretty fast when we're booking it. But time is of the essence, and I really don't want to delay anything. Besides, I have to be here in case Gaara is injured and drained of chakra. Or…

I press my hands to the barrier covering the boulder, ignoring the slight commotion over the wireless radios, something about the volume being up too high. I'm still trying to sense any trace of Gaara's chakra, but this barrier is screwing with my senses as well.

Nevertheless, when Kakashi attaches himself to the boulder and reaches for the tag, I get out of the way. Sakura gets some distance, and I frown, not really understanding what exactly she's going to do to a boulder that size. _In terms of destructive power, I would be a better choice, right?_ Well, I guess we'll see.

Kakashi starts peeling the corner of the tag, before speaking both into the radio, and to us. "Ready when you are. We'll make our assault using the button-hook entry." Then, after a countdown, he rips the tag clean off. "Now, Sakura!"

"Right!" She charges at the boulder, aiming a punch for it that shatters the entire thing. My eyes widen at the feat. I never expected her to be that strong. _Looks like she didn't just spend all that time learning medical ninjutsu._

With the boulder shattered, the five of us leap inside to see…Gaara lying on the ground, motionless.

Kakashi whispers a curse. "We're too late." Those are exactly the words that I never wanted to hear.

Fire burns within me, and my anger is not all that I find there. Suzaku is angry as well, but it's a very different kind of anger, it's…fury. I can tell that he's trying to contain it, to remain as the voice of logic between the two of us, but…Gaara is one of us.

At least…he was.

A blond Akatsuki has the gall to be sitting on Gaara, like it's no big deal. Then, he has the nerve to address us. "So…which of you are the two jinchuuriki?"

Naruto's rage bubbles completely to the surface before mine does, and his fists start to clench and shake as his eyes turn red and his fangs lengthen. "You…you bastards! I'll kill the both of you!"

"The one who bursts in and starts barking. That would be him, then." The stouter of the two Akatsuki fixes his eyes on Naruto.

The blond nods. "Sasori, my man, I think you're correct."

Naruto looks like he's about to lunge at them. "You bastard where the hell do you think you're sitting!?"

"Well, so much for that mystery. This kid's one of the jinchuuriki. He's the one who bursts in and barks first, alright." He says exactly what his partner just said. "Seriously, Itachi was right on the money, huh? Now…" He looks back at us. "There's supposed to be one more. Kisame said that she's supposed to be Itachi's niece or something. Said that we'd feel her chakra first, but that she'd stand back and get a look at the situation before actually doing anything. Cautious and protective, until her temper boils over."

Well, he's right about one thing, my chakra is saturating the air, moving it around with an almost lethal sharpness in the immediate area around me. And then, I look into the blond's single exposed blue eye, and glare as my chakra lashes out.

He smirks at me. "Well, I can definitely believe that you're related to Itachi. Just looking at you makes me want to give you a piece of my art."

"Get the fuck off of him." My eyes bring out every color of this damp, dark cave, including the lack of color in Gaara's face. He's always been pale, but never like this. _Is this…what my dream meant? Is this what all of those dreams meant? Yagura? Han? And Fuu too?_ I never dreamed that this is what they meant. And now…I'm still hoping that everything currently coming to mind is wrong.

"Gaara!" Naruto screams at him, his voice registering loud and clear through my anger. "What the hell are you doing!? Come on, why are you just lying there!? Get up!"

Kakashi turns to me, but not daring to get too close. "Ciara, you have to calm-"

"Don't you dare tell me to calm down." _They're hunting us…all of us…like we're animals!_ It makes me want to scream my lungs out, until my voice goes hoarse, and everyone else has gone deaf. _Why are they doing this to us!? It's not fair!_

Finally, Kakashi gets tired of listening to Naruto scream at Gaara. "Enough Naruto! You know full well that…" He trails off, obviously not knowing how to put it tactfully. Because there is no way to put this tactfully.

"Your friend's right, and you know it too. He'd been dead for a while now." That beast actually has the gall to slap Gaara's cheek while saying that. And the dark hole inside me only widens with the confirmation of my fear. Gaara is dead.

"Give him back." Naruto's power flares, and it only serves to make mine run a little more out of control. "Give Gaara back you-" Naruto races forward, only to be cut off by Kakashi.

The next couple of minutes make absolutely no sense at all. Something about art being an explosion, and art being eternal beauty. I want to groan at the sight of them. _Are they seriously debating art right now!? They've just committed murder, and they're debating art!?_ They barely seem affected at all by the chakra being poured into the air. That, or they're just really good at keeping their cool.

"That's it! Enough is enough!" Naruto slips past Kakashi, riding my breezes as he pulls out one of our many summoning scrolls, and from it emerges a giant shuriken, which he then proceeds to hurl at the hunched over one, Sasori.

A shuriken which is then blocked by some kind of weird tail. And the damn Akatsuki isn't even paying attention to us. Though I do catch one thing from their half whispered, half grumbled conversation. Deidara. The blond one's name is Deidara.

Finally, Deidara gets to his feet, holding something in his hand. "True art is…the explosion itself!" He throws whatever is in his hand into the air, makes a sign, and then a giant white bird appears in front of us, looking like it was molded from a mountain of clay. "It's not even in the same league, compared to your grotesque puppet show."

All other noise is drowned out of my ears as the sound of my blood pumping pounds through them. That bird picks Gaara up in its dirty mouth, and it takes off with Deidara on its back. Then, it swallows Gaara. And the final straw is seeing Deidara fly off into the canyon with Gaara in his damn bird's mouth.

All of my instincts start to roar. By the time we're done with this lunatic, Gaara will be back with us once more.

Whatever is left, anyway...


	7. Down With Deidara

**Now comes the moral dilemma. To focus on retrieving Gaara, or to fight Deidara to the death. Thoughts, emotions, and intentions are going to be all over the place. But I hope you all can keep up with the various switches as emotions, instinct, and logic all fight for control.**

 **Okay, fighting in this chapter, a new jutsu to pair with a couple of old ones, and a familiar one for the sake of nostalgia, and because it works.**

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Well, there's no question about where Naruto and I are going. I'm the first one out of the cave as Deidara flies off. And knowing that I'm going to need a little help, I land on the red gate, pulling the ribbons from my hair and raking a hand through the braid to let it all come tumbling down. Usually, I like to keep it up and out of the way. But…in cases like this, it can bend the feathers all sorts of ways, and that hurts like a bitch. The last thing I need is a headache to distract me.

And that bastard…he's just flying in circles, taunting me. Taunting us, actually, because Naruto is by my side in an instant. And he's pissed. "Give him back! Give Gaara back!"

Kakashi joins us next, uncovering his Sharingan. "Alright, no time to waste here."

"You're right about that!" Wings burst from my back, more than twice the size they used to be, and almost a dozen feathers protrude from my hair on each side of my head. "Kakashi, I hope that you're not planning on taking him back to be interrogated. Because if you are, I'm pretty sure you're going to be disappointed." Besides, considering that this guy seems to be the one who took down Gaara, I doubt we'd be able to capture him alive, anyway.

To be quite honest, I don't like killing, and in fact, I've never actually killed someone myself. The idea of it turns my stomach. Two of the times that could come close, Gaara was there. He struck the final blow in one battle, and the other kicked the bucket on his own. Besides, the rule about killing is literally on the wall of the training room at home.

Do not resort to lethal measure unless someone is a significant threat to the ones you love.

That said…I might just be willing to consider this to be an exception the rule, or even falling within the parameters of the rule. Then again, I could let Naruto do it. His energy is even angrier than mine is. Mine…is quickly being overcome with grief, sadness, and disbelief. And the empty, aching hole inside me only widens. After all, anger fed through despair and desperation burns hot and fast, before sputtering out and leaving only the coals behind. But Naruto reviles the idea of killing almost as much as I do, until you push him past a certain point.

Kakashi eyes me with one scarlet Sharingan. "If this one doesn't survive, it's no great loss."

"Good." Kakashi just sanctioned his elimination, and that's good enough for me. Not that I would have needed it. After all…this man kidnapped and murdered Gaara. For killing a Kage, his sentence would be death anyway. He's an Akatsuki, plus he's in the bingo book likely for an entirely different reason, another two justifications for his elimination. Still, I'll probably let someone else deal the final blow, Kakashi, probably. After all, he's not giving Gaara up willingly, which means that this is inevitably going to turn into a battle. And I do not plan on just letting him get away with Gaara's body.

This is not revenge. Yes, I am angry, sad, heartbroken, but this is not an eye for an eye. It could never be. Because he isn't worth Gaara's life. No, taking him down will not make me feel better. It's not supposed to. I am angry on the outside, but weeping on the inside.

This is to get Gaara back, to take out a criminal, and to protect Naruto and all of the other jinchuuriki from at least one of these nutcases. _I will protect them from these maniacs as long as I can!_ Right now, all that matters is getting Gaara back. And if that means taking down this guy in the process…well, I suppose that every ninja gets their hands dirty eventually. And with that in mind, I spring ahead, wings out and flapping as Deidara turns on his giant bird and takes off into the distance.

When Naruto and Kakashi follow along, that's when the battle starts. Deidara looses another of those little art projects, this time coming straight for us.

"Duck!" I swerve to the side, hoping that Naruto heard me. Whatever this guy's game is, I don't want to find out about it by getting hit with it.

Naruto, on the other hand, gets a face full of explosions when Kakashi tries to stop the bird in its tracks. _Sculptures that he can detonate like bombs? Okay…think. You've been all over the place with Jiraiya. Was there ever anything like this that you heard about while you were on the road?_

I think very hard for several long seconds, before I look back at his headband, and it hits me. _The Hidden Stone's Explosion Corps! Jiraiya mentioned them when we passed through the Land of Earth!_

Naruto gets blasted back by the explosion and hurled into the cliff wall, embedded deep inside it. Its inconvenient, but at least he's safe in there for the moment. I press my hands together as Deidara unleashes another. And this time, it's my trusty wind blades that detonate the explosion in mid-air. I lose a fair bit of altitude as my wings stop flapping in favor of shielding me from the blast.

Once the explosion's aftershocks are gone, I swoop down over the water, stretching my wings out as I regain the altitude that I lost. And just in time, Naruto pulls himself out of the cliff face, his expression livid. "I'll get Gaara! Nothing can stop me!"

"Huh, well aren't you two the unusual jinchuuriki." That bastard says that as if he knows us. "I though you were all sullen loners who didn't care about anyone else. To date, we've destroyed two jinchuuriki, not including him, of course."

 _Two? But…I've seen Yagura, Fuu, and Han…in exactly the same way as Gaara._ One commonality between all of their messages is that each one has mentioned the Akatsuki at least once, and given me a warning. But Yagura was the first, and so long ago. Then Chiyo's words hit me. _Does that mean that Yagura was an accident, then? Were they not ready to extract a demon from him, and-_

"But nobody ever tried to save them from us before." Deidara's voice pulls me out of my depressed musings. "Not a single friend or neighbor, not a soul came to their aid. In fact, seemed like most people were happy to be rid of them." His smile grows cruel, cold and cruel. "You can't forsake your own kind, can you? You feel connected to this pathetic creature. Such a shame, Gaara died when the One-Tail was extracted from him. Very soon, the same thing will happen to the both of you."

I swallow down a string of curses, and look up at Deidara fearlessly. "The other two…were they a large man with red armor, and a young girl with bright green hair and orange eyes?"

Deidara raises an eyebrow. "Oh, so you know who we've captured so far, yeah?"

Well, that's all the confirmation I need. It seems that at least two of the other three people to appear in my dreams were jinchuuriki. "You're sick…twisted…" Tears start to prick at my eyes. _How could he get any pleasure out of doing this?_

While my predominant emotion is now grief, Naruto's is anger. "If Gaara's dead, you're gonna pay!" Which means that Naruto will be carrying through on that threat, because…I can't sense anything from Gaara now.

I can't let him hurt anyone else.

"Ugh, damn it all to hell!" Naruto growls beside me, still overcome by his righteous anger. "I've had it! Hand over Gaara right now!" But when Deidara takes off flying again, Naruto takes up the chase again. "You bastard! You're not getting away!" Of course, it should come as no surprise that I'm on the move too. After all, I have one person to get back, and another to protect.

"Naruto! Ciara! Stop!" Kakashi's words, however, are in vain.

Naruto looks back just for a second. "Just stay and help Sakura, we can take this guy, Kakashi-Sensei!" Then, he turns to me. "Try to knock him out of the sky!"

"Yeah!" I rise high into the sky, flapping my wings and more than keeping pace with Naruto. In fact, I overtake him easily and circle upwards in a spiral, heading straight for Deidara.

"Oh, so you want to play, little jinchuuriki?" Deidara sneers at me, looking so smug and infuriating. "Fine, then, I can play!" He raises his hand, releasing three of those exploding birds of his.

My wings flap harder, and I swirl around, looping through the air to dodge them as they chase after me. Then, when one of them gets too close, I swat it away with my wing, detonating it. The resulting shockwave slams into me shooting me down against one of the many giant tree roots that span the width of the canyon.

Rolling onto my knees, I look up at him with sparks in my eyes. _Damn those exploding birds!_ That's when he speeds up, and I growl frustratedly as Naruto catches up to me again. "Those explosives of his are a pain in the ass!"

"No kidding." Naruto leaps over and under the roots right by my side. "And where do you think you're going!?" He glares up at Deidara, something akin to murder in his eyes.

When the next round of explosives comes at us, Naruto gets knocked off one of the roots, and I swoop down to grab hold of his arm, before tossing him ahead to another for him to latch on to. "You okay!?"

"Yeah, I'm good." He crawls around onto the upper side, finding his feet again.

"Naruto!" Two more explosions go off behind us, courtesy of Kakashi.

Naruto looks back briefly, before glaring on ahead. "Damn it!" Then, his eyes widen. "Incoming!"

I see another bird flying at us, so I leap backwards to dodge it, only for it to fly right past us. "What the-"

Then I see it's true target, and Naruto does as well. "Kakashi-Sensei!" But seconds later, his fear is unwarranted, because Kakashi comes leaping out of the smoke. And that allows Naruto to focus once more on the foe before us. "Alright, that does it!" Naruto takes off, and I'm hot on his heels.

Deidara seems to be pretty intent on getting rid of Kakashi. But I bet he didn't count on the perv being so tenacious. Not that we really need him around. After all, Naruto and I outnumber Deidara anyway.

Naruto, as frustrated as ever, looks behind us at Kakashi who is still trying to keep up. "Step it up, Kakashi-Sensei! Let's go! We're gonna lose sight of him if we don't get a move on!"

"It's okay, you're the whole reason he's here. Don't forget that. He won't get so far ahead as to lose us completely." Kakashi's eye narrows. "He wants you two, though probably one on one, if he has his way. You're dangerous together, and I'm a headache that he doesn't want to deal with. It's best if we all stick together."

Growls of frustration once again rise from Naruto's throat. "Fine, then! Just tell me how to take this guy down already! We're running out of time!"

"Don't worry, Naruto, I've got a couple of strategies in mind." Well, that's good to hear. "But I need a little more time to work out all the angles." And…now I feel like I've jinxed us just by thinking positively.

"I can't hang back anymore, don't you get it? I've gotta get to Gaara before it's too late!" What Naruto doesn't realize is that he's only making my nerves fray more with his words. I really don't want to think about what it means if we're too late.

Little white spots dot my vision, and I frown as we continue to race ahead. _What the hell was all that about?_ It doesn't take long to find out that it's a bunch of small bombs, all aimed at Kakashi.

Maybe we really should leave him behind, for his own safety.

"Naruto, Ciara, wait!"

Now…if we did things by the book, we would refrain from leaving a teammate behind on a pursuit mission. But…hardly anything ever goes by the book, so… "Kakashi, you should head back to the others! Naruto and I can handle things here!" Yes that should keep him safe and out of Deidara's range of fire. _Range of fire…that's it! Why didn't I think of it before!?_ "Naruto, I have an idea!"

"Great!" Then, he looks back at Kakashi. "Kakashi-Sensei, you're slowing us down, we're going on ahead!"

"Don't do anything reckless!"Kakashi seems more than a little miffed about being left behind. I can't blame him, but still, if we don't go on ahead, this game of cat and mouse is going to go on forever.

"Yeah, yeah, I know!" Naruto focuses his gaze forward. "Alright, so what's your idea?"

"Well, how far would you say he's hitting us away from?" He doesn't actually have to answer the question, he just has to get the general idea.

Naruto goes quiet, as though measuring the distance, before frowning. Then, his eyes widen. "Within range…of your wind style, right!?"

"Exactly. If I can hit his bird-" There's an explosion behind us, and Naruto looks back worriedly. So I pat his arm and smile. "Don't worry, Kakashi is smarter than that, there's no way he'd get caught in that guy's trap. Now, as I was saying…if I can hit his bird and force him to land, then you can get in close while I get Gaara out of there."

"Yeah, alright." He moves off to the side slightly, giving me room to work.

My hands come together for only a moment, and I choose a rather new move from my growing collection. Considering how much this guy likes to fly around, I think it'll be good for slowing him the hell down. "Wind Style: Full Moon Dance."

Unlike my other two favorite wind style ninjutsu, this one is a lot more dangerous. A shining circular disc of spinning wind appears parallel to my palms, spanning about four feet in diameter. It's flat, like a saw blade, and spins so fast that it gives off a low hum as it vibrates. And when they leave my hands, they zip through the air, waving back and forth as they race towards Deidara, aiming for the bird's wings. After all, I want to knock it out of the sky, not obliterate it. Gaara is still in there.

To my great irritation, Deidara's bird manages to dodge them both with some rather fancy acrobatics up there. So, that prompts me to send a few more little gifts his way. I make a single spinning blade between my hands, before pulling my hands away from each other, separating the original disc into six layers, six separate attacks. I stop on one of the roots briefly, spinning around in a circle to spread the discs out, before hurling them two at a time at him in rapid succession.

Damn it. I growl loudly in frustration, a truly animalistic sound. _I need to close the distance a little, or at least get into a position high above him, that way, I can use field of view and gravity to my advantage._ The problem with that is that if I go up too high, he'll just rise with me, and eventually, he'll just be way out of range of Naruto, and it'll be one on one. This guy beat Gaara, so I would rather not risk those odds. Plus, Naruto deserves to extract his pound of flesh. Though I suspect it will be more than a pound.

The last two discs that I throw at Deidara do manage to clip the bird's wings a little, which thankfully makes him sink down closer to the ground. Unfortunately, it doesn't hinder the clay bird's ability to fly enough to ground the monstrosity. Still, I take the opportunity to slow down a bit, since hes no longer going so fast that I need to put in extra effort to keep this distance.

Naruto grins in a kind of merciless satisfaction as he catches up to me. "Alright, good job. Now let's go get Gaara ba-" Then, he frowns as we look ahead, only for Deidara to have stopped. Not a smart move. "What the hell is he doing?" And honestly, I don't know what his game is. I didn't damage his bird so much that he had to stop, did I?

He looks down at us with a satisfied smirk. "Well, it took a while, and you greatly damaged my art, but now I've got you two alone." He only smirks wider at seeing our faces. "Aw…don't scowl like that, and here I was about to let you see your friend." The mouth of his giant bird opens, revealing Gaara's still form inside. "Oh…that's right, you're jinchuuriki too. I bet seeing him like this is driving the two of you crazy."

Naruto crouches down, then moves to leap at him. "Give him back right now!"

"Don't do it!" Kakashi appears behind Naruto in an instant, holding him back from attacking Deidara.

Deidara just whines a bit. "Aw man…I could have sworn you just bought it back there."

"Sorry, but it wasn't the real me that blew up." I had a feeling that Kakashi would be able to outsmart those moving bombs easily enough. "Next time, you should teach your critters to tell the difference between a real person and a shadow clone. That is…if there is a next time."

"Hmph." Deidara smirks as the bird's mouth closes, and they rise back up into the sky, taking off with Gaara again.

Naruto makes to lunge at Deidara in a rage. "Don't move!"

"I could say the same to you." Kakashi pull Naruto back, and I even feel him tug on my arm as well. "We will get Gaara back, s calm down." Then,he glances at me. "Alright, so now that you've fought him, what do you think?"

I look up at Deidara, who is slowly gaining altitude. Then, I take a long, deep breath to cool my temper and summon my logic. "I think…that I know why Gaara went down so easily. This guy excels at long-range combat, just like Gaara, and me as well. Typically, in a battle between long-range specialists, the better of the two will win. But once you're at a certain level…" I grit my teeth. "Then the battle will go on forever. The only choice is to close the distance and engage in close quarters combat. That kind of strategy wouldn't work well on me, since I can hold my own in close quarters, and fight just as well at mid range as I can at long range, though I prefer the latter." I bite my lip, hard. "But like I said, at a certain point, you have to close the distance, because it seems that we're both good at attacking and evading at long distances. We can throw attacks at each other all day until we both run out of chakra. It won't make a difference until one of us can punch him in the face."

"I see…I expected as much." Kakashi looks up, scrutinizing our foe. "So you believe that we should force him into a battle scenario where Naruto can do the most damage, is that it?" I nod, and Kakashi seems to agree. "Well, both of us can sustain long range combat, but I think that forcing him down and into close quarters is the best option. Unfortunately, bringing down an airborne opponent isn't my specialty." He looks at me pointedly.

My wings flutter impatiently. "It'll mean leaving the two of you behind. And it'll take you a while to catch up and reach wherever I send him down. But I can definitely engage him while the two of you catch up."

Kakashi is silent for a moment as Deidara takes off again. "Alright. I've got a plan, and you should be able to buy me enough time to get it ready. It should be able to take care of him for good."

"Alright." I can definitely live with Kakashi having the kill shot. All I want is Gaara, and to be sure that Naruto is safe. My wings flap slowly, gaining just a little speed and force with every oscillation. "Then I'll handle getting him on the ground. Catch up as fast as you can." Then, I jump up onto the highest roots, picking up speed before taking to the air and following Deidara up into the sky.

He looks back at me and smirks. "Well, it's about time you joined me up here. You're the less hot-headed one, yeah?"

"I wouldn't count on that…" My wings flap harder as I pick up speed, and seconds later, I'm shooting electrified water bullets from my mouth, aiming not at the bird, but directly at Deidara.

Along with the damn bird dodging left and right, Deidara proves to be more than a little nimble. He even bends over backwards, despite the fact that he's missing a hand. "You're gonna have to better than that."

"Tch." I let my wings spread wide open, slowing me down for a moment. "Fine, I will." And instead of continuing to chase him, I let my eyes turn skyward, and I push myself higher, gaining altitude as quickly as I can over the course of about ten seconds.

I stop about half a kilometer above the ground, using my enhanced color vision to keep an eye trained on Deidara, the single biggest spot of white in the area. _Well, if he wants me to do better than that, I guess it's time for an old favorite._

My fingers move, finally spelling out a tiger seal before my chest and throat fill with a powerful heat. _Fire Style: River of Flames._ And I really hope that Deidara has no idea what just hit him as I unleash a veritable flood of fire into the sky, raining all of it down onto and in front of Deidara to keep him from running away. I just hope that I don't end up accidentally causing a forest fire in the less rock parts of the area. Naruto, of course, knows me well enough to drag Kakashi in to take cover, at least for a minute.

When my flames finally start to die, I see that Deidara is moving closer and closer to the ground. Long range specialist or not, when I have the high ground, I control the sky. And it looks like he knows that.

That's when I see something rather strange happen. It's like the world around Deidara starts to warp, and I frown at the sight. _Are you seeing what I'm seeing?_

 _I believe so, chick. It appears to be some sort of space-time ninjutsu. And I believe that the source is the copy ninja._

 _Kakashi?_ I had no idea that he could use space-time ninjutsu. Of course, it can't be Naruto, because I know he can't use anything of the sort. So unless we're got an ally, or at least another enemy of Deidara's following this right, then it has to be Kakashi. _I wonder where he learned that…_

 _Yes indeed…techniques that alter the fabric of space and time are not to be used lightly, however. I suggest that you remain focused on improving your elemental ninjutsu and genjutsu before deciding whether or not to tackle anything quite as difficult as space-time techniques._

 _Yeah…_ I can see why he would caution me. From the looks of it, Kakashi is doing something really quite alarming to Deidara. And it makes me have to move back a little more to avoid getting caught up in its deceptively wide radius. When the jutsu is finally undone, I look down at Deidara again, smirking slightly as I see that he's lost his second arm. That should definitely cut down on our problems. _Well, Kakashi didn't manage to obliterate Deidara, but he's definitely crippled him. It looks like long-range attacks aren't going to be much of an option now._

 _Yes, I believe you're right. Best to move in once he's done trying to dismantle the child._

 _Right…_ It's a bit weird to hear a guy older than me be called a child, but considering how old I think Suzaku is, I suppose it's not unreasonable or him to call almost any human a child.

Still, that gives me the opportunity to rain blunt blades of wind down from the sky, driving Deidara lower and lower, until…

"Rasengan!" It's good to hear Naruto's voice shouting like that. Especially since it means that Deidara is now within the range of Naruto's close combat specialties.

Deidara escapes the attack, barely, and falls into the trees while the Rasengan, now without a target, is thrust downward instead, severing the bird's head from its body. I swoop out of the sky, catching the clay head in my arms, and almost crashing into a tree with it as I frantically start to pound it with my fists.

 _Chick, take my claws and free your friend…_ Warm chakra flows through me again, and there a familiar tingling sensation as my smooth nails turn into viciously sharp claws, allowing me to dig deeply into the clay shell. With every swipe, more clay is scraped away, until I finally poke a couple of holes in it.

My heart pounding, I claw away at the clay, exposing pale skin and red hair. Then, upon remembering what was said in the cave, dread fills my heart. _No…Gaara…_ I break off large chunks of the clay head, cracking it wide open, then in half with my growing strength.

I reach inside, my fingers trembling slightly as I look for something that I know isn't there. No pulse. No breath. No signs of life.

Gaara is gone.

Taking a deep breath, I feel the stinging as tears trickle down my face. And I wrap my arms around him as I pull him out of the clay. "Gaara…"

I can feel the rage pouring off of Naruto now. "You will pay for this." And eyes that had turned blue again bleed scarlet.

"Yeah, yeah. Maybe someday, I'll give you a rematch, kid." Deidara scoffs now, but he's about to be in for a world of hurt.

I raise my eyes up and glare through the trees at Deidara. "Naruto…"

It all goes down in just a few seconds. Naruto sneaks up behind Deidara and punches him in the face, making clone and dragging him out of the trees, where Naruto goes about beating the everliving crap out of him. There's no mercy, and Naruto's fingers bleed more with every strike, until eventually, he just drives a Rasengan into Deidara's stomach. But…

 _A clone…made of clay?_ Judging by the white stuff left behind after the attack, Deidara must have switched himself out at some point. That means that he's still pretty fast. It also means that he's got to be getting desperate at this point.

As I hold Gaara's head to my chest, I watch as Naruto's anger boils over, releasing his hold on the fox's chakra. He's growing the cloak. Though, I guess that isn't really much of a surprise. _He…must be so angry…_

And yet, right now, all I can feel is sad.

Still, unless Naruto gets to the fourth tail, I'm not supposed to rein him back in. Four is the point of no return, unless I get involved. And that's when the second tail gets involved. _Shit…just how far is he going to…_ It's at times like this that I'm glad to have a friendly demon, one that can rein me in and cut off his power from me in case I get a little too agitated.

I stare at Naruto as he bounds around, destroying rocks and trees left and right. _Come on, Naruto…you have to get control again._ Because up until the fourth tail, he's still kind of conscious. And this is the only way for him to learn control. It's also part of the promise that we made while we were on the road with the old perv.

Unless he goes to the fourth tail or completely off the rails, I'm supposed to let him rein it in by himself. Jiraiya never had a clue that we made that kind of agreement. Though now, I'm kind of wishing that we had told him, because Kakashi gets the brilliant idea to approach Naruto like this. "Easy, Naruto." And of course, that nearly gets him a punch straight to the face.

 _Dammit…well, at least I can claim that he's gone off the rails this time._ I make a clone to stay with Gaara, before dropping from the trees. "Hey Naruto, over here!"

He turns to me, and Kakashi sounds like he's going to have a heart attack back behind me. "Ciara, don't he's out of control right now!"

"Uh, duh? I'm pretty sure that I know that!" And I never thought that I'd have to interfere at only two tails, but it seems I have no choice. "Just sit back and watch, I've got this!"

There's only so far that I can go with my seal still intact. Whatever my uncle did to me that night, he must have either been too weak to make the seal complete, or he knew what he was doing, and left it kind of flexible on purpose. I would guess at the latter. Because like this, I can get four tails out before the seal won't let out anything more.

Which is exactly what I do as I get close to Naruto. Four flexible tail feathers emerge from under my medical kit, wrapping around Naruto's wrists and ankles as I wrap my arms around his neck, fighting the fox's chakra with my own. It's one of the few ways that we discovered to rein Naruto back in whenever he started to go out of control. Which happened a rather frightening number of times while we were in training. On the bright side, I learned a lot about control in the process.

He fights me for a while, before I tighten my grip and reach my hand up to stroke his hair. "Sh…I'm here, Naruto. You're safe, we have Gaara back…but you need to calm down and get a hold of yourself. Don't let the fox take over."

It doesn't really matter what I say. In the end, I know that it's my presence that calms him, and my chakra, and Suzaku's, that forces the fox's chakra back s that Naruto can reassert control. It's not the best way to do it, but until Naruto can suppress multiple tails without fail, we're reduced to this method, promise or not.

Naruto breathes deeply as the chakra begins to recede, and his red eyes fade back to blue as they flutter open and look at me. "Ciara…? What…?" He looks at the feathers in utter confusion.

"You went off the rails at the second tail. I had to step in." I don't want him to think that I broke my promise. "You could have hurt Kakashi, otherwise."

He looks down at the ground ashamedly. "I see…and what about-"

I shake my head. "He's gone." I do my best not to sniffle like a child, the tears still dripping down my cheeks. "We lost him." Motioning to my clone, I have Gaara's body brought down from the tree and placed on the ground next to us. I stroke the pale cheeks and feel…rather lost inside. "I…know what my dreams mean now."

Naruto grimaces slightly. "What?"

My hand drops to the ground, and the hole only opens wider. "A new one starts…each time one of us dies, each time another jinchuuriki dies." And seeing as they haven't stopped yet, I'm just not sure how long they're going to be haunting me. And they're only getting worse.

Because we're being hunted to extinction.


	8. A Broken and Mended Heart

**Alright, so this chapter is a bit on the shorter side compared to my other ones. Then again, those ones are all extra long by my standards. It wasn't an easy chapter to write, but I hope that you all appreciate the effort that went into it. It's quality over quantity this time.**

 **In other news, I managed to get one of my end of term assignments done this afternoon. The mountain of homework is slowly shrinking.**

* * *

It hurts. Everything inside throbs with a dull ache as I stroke Gaara's face and blood red hair. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Naruto and I were supposed to come back from our trip, go and visit Gaara, and we would have a big old reunion and have some fun. Maybe even make Gaara show us one of those rare smiles of his by dragging him off to do something he's never done before. It was going to be awesome.

Not like this. Never like this.

Kakashi joins the two of us, tapping my shoulder gently. "Is everything alright now?"

I look down at Gaara, tears prickling my eyes. "No…but Naruto is safe, at least." That's the only good thing about this whole situation.

"I see…" He glances down at Gaara, his face obscured and unreadable. Then, he turns his head to the trees. "We have company incoming."

"We do?" I turn towards the trees, feeling two chakra signatures coming closer. One is Sakura's. "Sakura and the old woman." That probably at least means that they managed to take down the other Akatsuki. That, or he was nearly incapacitated and was forced to escape.

And just like I've said, the two of them appear from the trees, Chiyo's arm slung over Sakura's shoulder, both of them looking rather the worse for wear. As Naruto looks over at them, Sakura smiles. "Finally caught up to you."

"S-Sakura." Naruto's face twists into a relieved smile. At least we haven't incurred any extra casualties, yet. Though we won't know for sure until Gai's team reports in.

Kakashi nods curtly. "You found us, nice work."

"We felt a huge tremor a few minutes ago." She frowns, and I can't blame her for being confused.

Hiding Gaara's pale face by pressing him softly against my heart, I smile sadly. "That…was probably the two of us. Naruto can get a bit wild when things…go wrong."

Naruto sighs. "I'm glad you're here…so you guys did it?"

"Yeah." Sakura's answer brings me a little relief, at least, though it does nothing to dull the pain inside.

Chiyo looks around. "Looks like you're still having trouble here, though." And speaking of trouble, she looks like she got put through the wringer. Seriously, she and Sakura look like they got crushed a few times.

"Unfortunately…" Kakashi really needs to learn the meaning of the word understatement.

"And Gaara?" The old woman looks to me.

And instantly, tears well up in my eyes, pouring down my cheeks in rivers. I shake my head and squeeze him tighter. "He's…" I tremble slightly, unable to finish. He's gone…and I couldn't stop it. Then, a metallic sound reaches my ears, and I hold him tighter, my arms slipping around his shoulders and under his knees, ready to move in an instant. "What was that?"

Everyone else looks back into the trees, in the direction of what sounds like a battle. Kakashi's Sharingan homes in on it, and widens. "It's Gai's team." And judging by all of the crashing and smashing, I would say that they're probably in battle with Deidara.

Let them have him, I don't care right now. It doesn't matter to me who offs him.

As he comes closer and the battle moves towards us, Kakashi speaks up. "Be careful, he's a long-range fighter who uses explosives."

What he does, however, perplexes me. He starts tearing apart his downed clay bird with his teeth. And while that can't possibly taste any good, I don't really see what swallowing it will do for him.

Then, Neji turns back towards us in a panic. "Everyone get out of here immediately!" That's when the explosion goes off.

Everything happens in a split second, and my brain goes on autopilot, moving my body for me. Then again, it might be my feathered friend doing the moving. In any case, my tails shoot out and grab Neji, Tenten, Lee, and Gai, pulling them away from the explosion and within range of my expanding wings. Then, the feathers come together tightly, sealing all eleven of us within the safety of my fireproof wings.

But, just before my wings close up, something feels…off. And then, the impact that does hit my wings just doesn't feel as powerful as it should. Like…the power just disappeared. It's…odd, to say the least.

When all sound from the outside subsides, I unwrap my wings, exposing us to daylight once more. And that's when we all pot the space-time distortion behind us, along with an alarmingly big crater.

Kakashi sighs, his Sharingan eye looking quite swollen. "It worked. Just in time…" Then, he falls over, obviously from exhaustion.

Naruto catches him, propping him up from behind. "Hey, Kakashi-Sensei, you alright?"

"I don't get it. What did you do?" Sakura looks more than a little puzzled. And her reaction makes me glad, now more than ever that I have a demon inside me to explain things I don't understand. That way, I avoid having to ask a lot of extra questions.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Kakashi opens his eyes. "Sent the explosion to a different space. At least…as much of it as I could."

"You…sent it somewhere?" Again, Sakura appears more than a little confused.

Lee blinks, but smiles reassuringly. "I am not sure I understand it fully, but it seems that the enemy has been defeated. Tenten, do you agree?"

"What the!? Are you kidding!? What the hell are you asking me for!?" Another one who doesn't understand space-time ninjutsu. I'm starting to get the feeling that our age group really needs to take a collective trip to the library at some point.

"More importantly, is everyone okay?" Kakashi looks to me. "Your wings…they took the brunt of the explosion's force. At least…whatever I didn't send away."

"I'm fine." I flex my wings, and they shrink down to a manageable size. "They're not as fragile as they used to be." Then, I look through the trees and spot a meadow. "Let's go over there…there's more space." Really, I'm just feeling kind of claustrophobic right now. I need some wide open sky before I go insane.

"Right." Kakashi nods towards the meadow, and we carefully make our way over, making sure not to jostled the injured.

Once settled in the grass, I sit there with Gaara's head in my lap, stroking his deathly pale skin. My tears have not stopped falling, not even when we were all in danger. I just…can react in order to defend, no matter how much I may be weeping.

At Naruto's request, Sakura examines Gaara's body, though I already know exactly what she'll find. It's hopeless, and I already know it. Still…seeing her shake her head like that…it turns my stomach inside out.

And another piece of my heart breaks away.

"Why?" I look up at Naruto, who has started to cry as well. "Why is it always Gaara?" He's right, it is always Gaara… "If he dies like this… He's the Kazekage! He just became the Kazekage!"

"Try to calm yourself, Naruto Uzumaki." Like that old woman has any right to say something like that. How can she possibly understand this grief.

"You shut up!" Naruto screams at her, his tears dripping all over the grass, just as mine drip onto Gaara's face. "Just shut up! If all of you Sand shinobi hadn't put a monster inside of Gaara, then none of this ever would've happened to him! Did you ever even consider how Gaara felt!? Did you ever even ask!?" His tears only fall faster. "Calling us jinchuuriki…what gives you the right to label us? Who are you to decide someone else's fate!?" He breaks down into a crying, sobbing mess, likely mirroring my own expression. "I couldn't save S-Sasuke, and I can't save G-Gaara either. For th-ree ye-ars, I've trained s-so hard. But nothing has ch-anged."

I'm shaking, I know I am, trembling violently like a leaf in a storm, the sobs wracking my body. "We've…already l-lost Yagura, and Fuu." I sniff, trying to keep my tears from spiraling out of control. "Han…and now Gaara t-too." I bite my lip, drawing blood that trickles out the side of my mouth. I cover my face with my hands, trying to contain the heartbreak. "When does it end…?" It's not working. "When does it fucking end, dammit!?"

This is the moment…that I learn that a dragon cannot handle…cannot deal with grief. Because it's now…that my chakra spins out of control, shooting into the sky like a signal flare, followed by my echoing, piercing cry, a scream of loss and despair. It's the song of my soul. A song born of one loss after another. But this time, the lyrics are Gaara's name.

And I don't think I can take this much longer.

I don't know how long it takes for me to quiet down, but I know that when I do, I'm met with silence, broken only by Naruto's own heartbroken sobs.

That is…until the old woman sits down next to me and puts her hands on Gaara's stomach. I look at her with reddened, slightly puffy eyes. "What…are you doing?" She says nothing, just umps chakra into Gaara's body, despite…

"Lady Chiyo! That jutsu…" It seems that Sakura knows what she's doing. And by the sounds of it, it's either not good, or very dangerous. I would put money on the latter, if I cared.

She looks back at Sakura, before turning her attention back on Gaara, continuing her work of pumping chakra into his still body.

And Naruto doesn't like it. "Leave hi alone, will ya!? What do ya think you're doing!?"

To calm Naruto's outburst, Sakura holds him back, an unusual look on her face. Grim, determined, and not one I've seen her sport before. "It's gonna be alright. She's bringing him back."

 _What…?_ I look down at the flow of chakra, confused. _What…exactly is she doing?_

 _Just as the girl said, she is bringing your friend back to life using a reanimation ninjutsu. It is the kind that should be forbidden, however…_

It's a little startling to hear Suzaku's voice again. For a moment, I'd forgotten he was there at all. _So she's…_

 _Trading her life for his. She plans to bring the child back from death for you._

I sit there, stunned at the revelation. This old woman would sacrifice her life…for one of us? But she hates us. _Why would she…?_ It doesn't make a bit of sense for her to help Gaara like this. Not at all.

 _Be patient, chick. I will monitor and analyze this technique. It may be…useful in the future._

 _Yeah…_ Though I can't imagine a situation in which I would have to use it. Not unless…Naruto died.

But then, her chakra starts fading, and it looks like she's unable to complete the jutsu. And I'm not sure how I should feel about that. After all, I don't like death, but…Gaara's life could be returned. And while the second option is selfish, either way, someone is going to be dead.

She curses quietly, before Naruto walks over, knees on Gaara's other side, and holds his hands out to her. "You can use my chakra. Take as much as you need to. That'll work, won't it, Granny? Please?"

After a moment of silence, she looks down. "Place your hands on top of mine, son."

He nods, putting his hands down. And the chakra glows even brighter than before with the addition of Naruto's chakra. Spurred on a bit by their efforts, I place my hands back down on either side of Gaara's head, pumping my chakra into him for a very different purpose. After all, he's going to need a body that actually works. And that's not going to happen unless I heal him.

Then, the old woman speaks, and my attention wavers just for a moment to listen. "In this world of shinobi, created by frivolous old people, it's a great comfort to know that new souls like yourself have come along."

 _Ah…so she's been hit by Naruto's natural charisma, then…_ It's actually kind of funny to see it when Naruto's words, his outlook, his very personality change the way that people think. He did it with Iruka, then Zabuza…everyone in our year, our friends above our year, our friends from the Sand, friends and enemies alike listen to his words and learn something, with the exception of a few. It's astonishing at times, and aggravating at others. But…it's just one of many things that I want to protect.

The old woman takes a breath, clearly in pain. "Until now, everything I've done in my life has been wrong. But at least…here in my final hour, I can finally do something right for a change. The Sand…and the Leaf…may the future that awaits them be different from the way things were in our time. This special power of yours that Kakashi spoke of…that power will change the future dramatically. Become a Hokage, the likes of which has never been seen. And as for you, Sakura…in the future, help those closest to your heart, not some old grandmother with one foot in the grave. You're a lot like me, child. So few women possess such strong spirit. You'll surpass your master as a kunoichi, I have no doubt."

I snort softly. "Got any advice for the rest of us?" Not expecting, of course, for her to have any.

"You are…a child of dragons, yes?" Her question startles me, and I look into her old, dark eyes, I nod. And it makes her smile slightly. "Then do not cry to the sky for help,but roar so that all may know who it is that protects them. Just like…Daisuke, Lord Shiryugu once did. He was…an unstoppable opponent during the Great War, and more astonishing than anything…was his mercy to his enemies, and the protection he granted to his kin. Even after his passing…he was admired on all sides. Do his memory justice…"

I stare wide-eyed at her. "How did you…"

"Your chakra becomes visible when you heal…and it glows a beautiful, pure white, just like his did." She takes a staggered breath, turning from me to look across Gaara's body. "Naruto, do an old woman a favor, will you? You two…know the extent of Gaara's pain…and he knows yours as well. Please…look after Gaara." Her voice goes weak, and I look at her just in time to see the light leave her eyes.

At the same moment, I feel like I'm being sucked into the earth, everything goes dark for just a moment. And I see…Gaara. Gaara is standing with his back turned to me. And he's moving. I reach out, grabbing hold of him. Naruto appears beside me, holding onto his left shoulder, while my arm circles around his back. He's warm, and only getting warmer.

Then, everything turns white and I realize that I've pushed him up, moving to his right side, Naruto on his left, the two of us holding him up, just like in that…dream? Vision? Trip into Gaara's newly reawakening subconscious? I'm not entirely sure. But…he's breathing, and his eyes flutter open. And I have never been so happy to see those seafoam eyes in my life.

Naruto looks like he's never been more relieved than he is right now. "Gaara…"

"Naruto…?" Gaara sounds half sure, half unsure. Then, he looks over towards me. He stares, before his eyes travel to my wings, then back to my eyes. "Ciara…"

I smile softly at him, tightening my grip on him. "Yeah, it's us. We're back, finally." Then I look around to see that we've been surrounded. "And we're not the only ones here to see you, it seems." All around us are dozens of Sand shinobi

"What…is this?" He looks exhausted,but utterly bewildered.

Naruto grins. "They all came runnin' to help ya. You had everyone worried half to death."

"Lord Gaara!" Matsuri comes running up, though thankfully, my wings keep her from getting too close. "Are you alright!?"

Gaara just nods,before turning to me and focusing again on my eyes. "You…were crying…are you hurt?"

I bite my lip and sidle closer to him. "You asshole, I'm fine…you're the one who gave me something to cry about. Do it again, and there'll be hell to pay, you hear me?" I feel like crying again, and a few tears do end up trickling down my cheeks.

Gaara just looks stunned, so Naruto laughs. "You sure had us worried there."

"No kidding." Kankuro, who should not be up and about, walks over. "You caused us a whole ton of grief there little brother. So much, that we actually followed that ear-splitting shriek the rest of the way here." He looks at me pointedly, so I glare back at him. No one is allowed to make fun of how I grieve.

"Would you all stop putting on airs already?" Temari sits down across from me, next to Naruto. "Gaara's the Kazekage, remember? Show a little respect, you nitwits." Three, two, one… "Gaara, talk to me, how do you feel?" She turns into the worried older sister in an instant, it's like flipping a switch.

Instead of responding, Gaara tries to get to his feet. At which point, I promptly push him back onto the ground. "And…you're not going anywhere for the next ten minutes. I will pin you down with my tails if I have to." I glare at him, and surprisingly, it's enough to have him freeze in his tracks.

Temari glares at me in turn. "What the hell do you think you're doing, ordering around the Kazekage like that!?"

"I think that I'm doing my job as a medic, that's what!" I slap my hands together, filling them with more healing chakra as I go back to work. "So for the next ten minutes, what I say goes, and no one is stopping me!"

"Why you-" Temari gets ready to do…well, something. I'm not sure what, since her wind ninjutsu won't work all that well on me.

Gaara cuts her off with a small shake of his head. "It's fine…" And he sits back quietly to let me heal him properly, looking over at me with wide eyes. "You…changed."

"What, you're just noticing that now?" Thanks to my feathered friend, my eyes are healing and the swelling is going down. "It's been two and a half years since we last saw each other. So of course I changed." I half force a grin. "I bet I'm almost as tall as you now." I drop my eyes back down, moving my hands over various parts of his torso, making sure that all of the damaged organs are repairing themselves properly. I have to activate a lot of cells, again, but for Gaara, using up this much chakra and stamina is worth it.

My issue, of course, comes when two of Gaara's little fangirls come racing in, tossing Naruto aside as they squeal. And one of them is Matsuri, heavens help us all. I never understood fangirls, seriously. They're annoying to more than just the object of their desires.

So, I make my displeasure known as my chakra flares slightly and my wings buffet them back. "If you haven't noticed, I am trying to heal my friend, here. So back off and let me do my job! Or so help me, I will toss you across this meadow, understood!?" I shoot them a glare, and the two of them recoil, backing away slowly.

Gaara looks up at me, his brow furrowed slightly. "But I…" He closes his mouth, as though reformulating his words. "How was I brought back?"

Sighing, I glance over towards the old woman's body is lying, her's now lifeless in place of Gaara's. "She brought you back to life…at the cost of her own." When I deem him worthy of moving, at least a little, I look over at Naruto, who looks rather dumbstruck. "Come on, get over here."

He nods, coming over obediently just as Temari takes a renewed interest in him. "Naruto…there really is something different about you. It's true…you do have the power to change Chiyo…always used to say that she didn't care about the future of the Hidden Sand Village. She wasn't the kind of person who would do something like this for Gaara." I'm half tempted to say that she probably did it to stop my screaming.

"Lady Chiyo entrusted the future to you and Gaara." Kakashi, surprisingly, is still kicking, despite using his Sharingan so much. "It was a death befitting a shinobi."

"Yeah…just like the Third." _Damn, Naruto, go and open old wounds, why don't you? And pour some salt in for good measure._ "I get it now…I understand what Granny wished for."

Gaara starts pushing himself to his feet again, and Matsuri panics. "Lord Gaara,are you alright!?"

"I'm fine." He shakes her off gently, his stubborn pride finally showing itself. But as he stumbles, Naruto and I each catch an arm, pulling him upright.

And now that the danger has passed, and there's no longer a need for power, my wings and tails, and the feathers in my hair all burn away, the marks on my cheeks and forehead fading, and my eyes darkening back to green. "Easy does it, Gaara. Don't push too hard, too fast."

He nods,before looking down to where Sakura sits, crying, and holding Chiyo's body close. "Everyone…pray for Lady Chiyo and bid her farewell."

As everyone bows their heads in prayer, out of respect for what the old woman did, I close my eyes and sigh.

 _May your spirit fly to the skies and find freedom there._

 _Race the wind at every twist and turn._

 _Follow the water wherever it may lead you._

 _Tame the lightning and wildness of the world._

 _Stand strong against the almighty earth._

 _And take the fire into your heart._

 _Then, may you find peace._

When the silence breaks, it is done by and older man, who approaches Chiyo's body, arranging for it to be transported back to the Sand.

Finally, we begin the long march back through the desert.


	9. Staying Behind

**Yes, this chapter took a while, and for that, I apologize. Problem is, final assignments are getting closer, and I've been busy with workshopping stories for my creative writing class. Homework takes a while, and so does catching up on all the sleep I've lost.**

 **Some days, I wonder if I'm going insane. Then I remember what insanity actually is.**

 **Yeah, definitely insane.**

 **Warning, Ciara gets paranoid and obsessive over health.**

* * *

After walking all afternoon, and all night, all the way until morning, we're all tired, hungry, and thirsty. But the Sand Village comes into sight, and from Gaara's right side, I smile. "Looks like you're almost home, Gaara." Then, we hear the cheering. "And it looks like you get a welcome back party as well. It looks like they missed you." And I can make out several thousand people milling out on the outer walls, likely here to see our approach. Well, Gaara's anyway.

"Yeah…no kidding." Naruto smiles. But as we get closer, he cringes. "Uh-oh, looks like we're on crowd control."

"Yeesh…" I can understand being happy to see your leader come back, but honestly, these people are a bit overenthusiastic, even for that. Hundreds of them swarm us, surrounding us.

Baki pushes his way to the front of the crowd, stopping right in front of Gaara. He looks our friend up and down rather quickly. "I'm happy you're safe."

"Thanks to these people…" I'm honestly surprised that Gaara is keeping his composure, considering how much discomfort he's still in.

His eyes flick to Naruto. "Naruto Uzumaki, I thank you."

My best friend becomes bashful and sad in an instant. "Huh? I'm not the one who…I mean, I hardly did anything at all, really." He's so humble that it's actually kinda cute.

Baki just smiles. "Lord Kazekage, your people are waiting to welcome you home." The crowd splits before us at his words. "Come, lead the way."

But as Naruto and I move to step forwards, Gaara drags his feet. "Wait, not yet."

I blink confusedly, glancing at Gaara. "Is something wrong?"

He looks back over his shoulder at the stretcher carrying the wrapped body of Lady Chiyo. By her sides are her brother, as well as Sakura. And at his wish, they take the front of the procession. The crowd goes completely silent as she is carried back into the village.

It's loud, to say the least, as we walk Gaara back into the village, and luckily, the people seem to realize that we need a clear path to the hospital because they part for us, leaving a trail straight to the front doors.

As soon as we're inside, I drag Gaara, and consequently Naruto, off to one of the emergency rooms. Naruto only makes it halfway before getting dragged off by Sakura. That leaves me to push Gaara towards an examination table. "Alright, sit."

Gaara eyes me in what almost looks like bewilderment as he sits down. "What are you doing?"

I start by pulling off the half vest he's wearing, along with the long coat, exposing only black clothing underneath. "Examining you, again." I reach for his arm, tacking his pulse again, frowning when I feel that it's far too slow for my liking. "This…is not going to be solved in just a day or two." He was dead for…hours, at least. It's going to take a lot of time and care to get him back up to full strength, especially without the healing abilities of a Tailed Beast inside him.

"What do you think you're-" Temari races in, stopping in her tracks as I raise my eyes to hers, glaring slightly. "Are you checking him again?"

I nod. "He did just come back from the dead. So forgive me for being paranoid about his health. But I think that after everything I just saw, I'm allowed to indulge my paranoia a little."

Temari retreats from the room, likely to go and see if anyone else has injuries that need to be addressed. Injuries to the body, of course. I doubt that the wounds on the inside are going to heal so easily. Not that something like that would stop me from trying anyway.

Minutes pass quietly, before Gaara breaks the silence. "You're much taller than I remember."

I look up from his stomach, which I've been examining for any internal damage I might have missed the first time. "It has been two and a half years…I finally hit puberty. So of course I shot up a bit." And by a bit, I of course mean about a foot.

"Yes…I see." Thankfully, he seems satisfied for the moment, and allows me to continue going about my work.

I can feel his eyes on me as I continue my examinations, going back over a few problem spots with medical ninjutsu until I'm satisfied that he's not going to faint if I let him walk around on his own. "Well, you're not going to keel over unexpectedly, but…I hope that you like meat, because you're going to need a lot of it over the next few weeks."

He nods, before looking seemingly through the wall. Off in the direction of his office. "We must prepare for the funeral."

My eye twitches, but I let go of him and stand back. After all, I know how important funerals are. "Fine. But don't push yourself too hard. If you want to go to your office, I can flicker us there. Though I would rather you rest, despite the fact that you never seem to sleep." Then again, now that Shukaku is out of Gaara's head, maybe he'll actually be able to get some sleep once in a while. Not that I'm happy the demon is gone. If he wasn't, we wouldn't have had so many problems over the last few days.

Not that it matters, because everything is said and done now.

Gaara sits himself up and gets to his feet unsteadily. "Let's go."

"Alright." I slide an arm around his waist, pulling his right arm over my shoulders. Then, there's a rush of light and sound, wind racing in circles around us as we disappear from the hospital and reappear right in front of the door to his office. "I hope you're not planning on working too much, because I'll get a sedative if you try it."

"Very well." He doesn't put up any fuss as I walk him into his office and watch him settle into his chair.

As he shuffles through some papers on his desk, there's a scroll sitting on top of one of the piles. Suspicious? I think so. "Gaara, what's that?"

His eyes flick to it, and he picks it up, unrolling it and laying it flat against the desk. "It's a message from the Hokage." He reads further, and I raise an eyebrow slightly. "It says that she has approved a request for you to remain in the Sand for a period of one month, as requested by the hospital's medical staff." He holds the scroll up and hands it to me.

I take the scroll, unraveling it all in my hands and reading quickly. It seems that the medics of the Sand want me to stick around and help them to bolster their medical program. After what they saw Sakura and I do with Kankuro, they would like to learn the healing techniques that were employed. And Tsunade agreed to have me stay. Which is something of a surprise. I hadn't expected her to agree so readily. "Well, looks like I'm sticking around a while longer."

"Who's sticking around a while longer?" Naruto walks into the office, followed by…well, everyone eventually meanders in. I swear, there should never be this many people in the office at once. Both our teams who are all paced and ready to go, plus Gaara's siblings, and Baki. Talk about cramped.

I toss Kakashi the scroll. "New orders, just for me."

Kakashi looks over the scroll, his eye taking in everything written there. "I see, in that case, there will be someone to monitor things here and see that things are stable while the rest of us head back."

Kankuro blinks at the news. "What? You're leaving already?" He smiles disbelievingly. "You can stay a little longer, come on."

"Kankuro's right, at least a day or two. You need time to rest." Temari makes a good point, except that time waits for no one, and who knows what could be going on in the Leaf right now.

Naruto grins. "Believe me, I wish we could."

"Me too." Sakura steps up to gently turn down the offer. "But we need to report back to milady, the Hokage right away."

"Besides, if the Akatsuki have managed to penetrate this far into the Sand…I'm worried about the Leaf Village's safety." And Kakashi makes the point so that I don't have to vocalize it. Convenient.

"I understand you want to get back as soon as possible…even so, in your condition…" Baki's eyes travel up and down Kakashi's form, taking in the obvious exhaustion, demonstrated by Gai needing to hold him up.

"Don't worry, I have comrades I can rely on to get me there." Kakashi's eye seeks out Gai, though he looks pretty tired anyway.

Baki nods. "By the way, we've already dispatched the preliminary report with Takamaru. But there as no mention in it of the fates of the two Akatsuki members. Won't you want to report that to your village?"

"I'll report that news to the Hokage myself." That's a smart move, since it will allow for less intel leaks. Then, Kakashi's eye narrows. "You see, there's something else troubling me." That can't be good. "In any case, we should probably pay our respects before leaving."

His pointed remark draws attention to the fact that Temari and Kankuro have both dressed themselves in black funeral clothes. But I suppose that we might as well go and see how fast the villagers have gone about erecting a grave for her. Ninjas tend to be fast about those things, since when there's a battle, there's not much time for burying the dead.

* * *

Turns out that the graveyard reserved for people of special distinction is halfway between an open graveyard and a mausoleum, walled in from all sides, but still open to the sky. It's actually…kind of peaceful. I take the chance to look around while the others approach the grave. After all, this place is very different to the open fields we have in the Leaf. It's intriguing, if…saddening.

Then, my attention is drawn when the old man approaches his sister's grave. "She didn't want a headstone on her grave. But despite her wishes, I thought it was better to have one. I felt sure that people would want a place to come to remember her." It's a beautiful sentiment.

 _Maybe…I should pay a visit to the mausoleum when I return home. I'm sure that no flowers or incense have been left for them in years…_

Kakashi breaks the ensuing silence. "Everyone, say your farewells." Somehow, those few words put everyone into silence, and it's actually rather deafening. I'm not a fan of silence.

Silence reminds me far too much of death.

After the longest minute of my life, Naruto brushes a hand against my back. "Hey…do you think you could give her one of your flowers?"

I blink, then look back at his earnest eyes. And I can't possibly say no. "Okay."

Taking out one of my scrolls, I open it, passing a hand over it and pressing my fingers to the dried ink. There's a puff of smoke, and then a waxy white flower the size of my palm appears in my hand, summoned forth from the storage scroll. I'd put some there, just in case, since the magnolias grow wildly all over the estate. They're a final gift to people we love, people we respect, or people we honor.

Which is why I place it on the headstone at Naruto's behest, because I truly do appreciate and honor Lady Chiyo's sacrifice. "May you watch over this place and offer comfort and guidance to those who come to seek it." The words that Dad said when Grandma Akane passed away. I was only two, but I remember the words spoken with his voice. I remember the most random crap from my early years…but sometime, it's nice to remember the words passed down from my family. But at least here, it can be put to good use. These words, said to an elder, rather than those said over the grave of a young warrior.

Proof that all words have their place.

* * *

I stand by Gaara's side at the entrance to the village, smiling as Kankuro plucks up the courage to break the silence surrounding our groups. "Well, so long."

"Uh, yeah." Naruto and Gaara stare at each other silently, dragging the moment on and on, until finally, Naruto can't take it anymore. "I guess this is where people shake hands and get all choked up. But I've never really been very good at that stuff either. " I nudge Gaara in the back while Naruto rambles on. "So let's just leave it at-" Then, he notices the hand Gaara holds out to him.

It's kind of sweet, how Gaara's sand, his abilities still very much intact, lift Naruto's hand up to meet his own. And the tiny grains circle around their fingers like something almost…magical.

Still, with how solemn it seems, I have to step in. I nudge Gaara towards Naruto, before sidling around to hug them both. "Come on, this is how we should be bonding after so long." I pull back a little, before panting a kiss on both of their foreheads. Then, I smile at Naruto, whose arms has snaked around me, surprisingly, so has Gaara's. Seems like he's getting better with touching people, or maybe it's just because it's me and Naruto. "Naruto, I'll take care of Gaara here, and I'll be home in a month. So don't go and get into too much trouble without me, okay?"

"Alright…" Naruto chuckles softly. "You two stay safe, alright? And watch each other's backs, cause I'm not gonna be there to watch em for you."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it." I lean my head against Naruto's shoulder, my eyes flicking to a pair of soft seafoam irises. "I'll make sure things go well here, believe it." I don't often steal Naruto's favorite words, but I think this is a special occasion.

Even Gaara smiles gently at the display, our arms all still locked together. "Yes, she will be safe here."

"Besides, if any Akatsuki do come back around, I'll just flatten their ass. No more of that chasing them while waiting for you and Kakashi, I'll hit hard, hit fast, and pummel them into the ground." After all, that's what we've been training for all this time.

"Yeah, you go get them." Naruto backs away, grinning at us as he turns back towards our teams. "Take good care of Gaara, alright? He's already given us more than enough of a scare already."

"Oh, you know I will." I shoot a stern look at Gaara. "You and I are going to know a disturbing amount about each other by the time it's time for me to leave, so I suggest that you get used to me watching you around the clock. Because if I see any signs that you're not perfectly healthy, I'll be on you in an instant. Got it?"

Gaara stares at me, before nodding slightly. "I understand." Oh…I don't think he does, though I appreciate the sentiment.

"Good." I step away from him and get on my toes as everyone's silhouettes start to grow smaller. "I'll see you guys in a month! Don't have too much fun without me in the meantime!"

Naruto and Sakura both wave back, along with Lee and Tenten. Their voices are a cacophony of goodbyes and several jokes. The latter, of course, I doubt I'll ever hear the end of. _If only they knew about the hot springs incident…they'd be teasing Naruto mercilessly instead of making jabs at me._

Well, that can be a story for another day.

Once they're out of sight, I turn to Gaara with a stern look on my face. "Now, as for you, we're going back to put you to bed, and I'll be ordering the medics to prepare some medicinal soup for you while I take your vitals. Then, I expect you to at least try to get some sleep."

He stares unblinkingly at me. "I do not sleep very much."

I roll my eyes and take hold of his arm, pulling him back towards the gates of the village. "Yes, yes, I know. You don't sleep because you'd get taken over by a psychotic demon if you did. Well, this whole mess was caused by the fact that said demon is no longer present to threaten to take over your body while you sleep. So with that in mind, as a medic, I expect you to at least put in an effort to improve your sleeping habits." With the hard part out of the way, I let my voice soften. "Gaara…just…try, please. This past week…has been hard enough, and all I want right now is to see you healthy…and I know I'm not the only one."

Kankuro rolls his eyes about five feet away. "You about done bossing around our Kazekage?" Then he, very helpfully, coughs loudly to get more of my attention.

Releasing Gaara, I sigh and step towards Kankuro, my gaze hard and focused. "Until I'm satisfied that he's in perfect health, I will boss him around as much as I like. And I know that he'll listen because he knows that this is for his own good." I glance back at my favorite redhead. "Right?" It's rhetorical, really.

He nods slightly, before walking back through the gates. "Come, Temari can fetch whatever you need from the hospital."

And that's about when I notice that Gaara is headed straight for the Kazekage Mansion. Wonderful… "…Aren't you supposed to take a day off, considering that there's just been a funeral? I mean, if I thought that it would do any good, I would put you on bed rest." Though I guess I should have expected, with Gaara's own stubborn streak, that he would insist on catching up on everything he missed. It's a calmer stubbornness than Naruto's, but it's one I've seen employed in battle before.

"I can rest at my desk. Paperwork is not physically strenuous." _Ugh, looks like Gaara has really taken to his new job. He's already talking like such a politician. That's not going to make my job any easier._

As a medic, I know full well that causing an argument at this point would only cause extra strain on my patient. So, since he does have a point, I catch up to him quickly. "Fine. But if I see any hint of your vitals going somewhere I don't like, you stop whatever it is that you're doing and listen to what I tell you to the letter, okay?"

He just nods, before his eyes find Temari. In an instant, she disappears, probably heading for the hospital in order to get all of the basic equipment I'll need. I get the feeling that she knows it well after what happened to Kankuro, but I doubt that she ants to see too much of hospitals in the near future.

With her disappearance, I grasp Gaara firmly, wind swirling around us as I flicker into his office. I deposit us right in front of the desk, making sure we hit the ground like a couple of feathers. "Alright, you can work in here for a little while, but if your council thinks that they're dragging you off to any meetings yet, I'll put the idea out of their heads. I will even genjutsu it out if I have to." Because no old people are going to cause him any undue stress. "Actually…I could do that anyway and convince them that they're all a bunch of five year olds who want to raid a candy shop!"

As Gaara sits, he raises a non-existent eyebrow at me. "And why would you do that?"

"Because it would be funny?" I shrug lightly. "Maybe Naruto is rubbing off on me a little bit more than I thought. Usually, I don't like taking part in his pranks, but in this case, I think I would make an exception and emulate him instead." It would be entertaining, and maybe watching them run around would make Gaara laugh.

I don't think I've ever heard Gaara laugh… _Okay, definitely putting that on my list of priorities. Find whatever Gaara thinks is funny, and then use it to make him laugh. Laughter is good for reducing stress, which is good for the heart, which will help his muscles to strengthen themselves again._

While my mind starts coming up with a million possible remedies, regimens, I move around behind Gaara's chair and put my hands on his shoulders, pouring chakra into my palms as I work on massaging his shoulders. And because of where my thumbs are, I can keep an eye on his vitals as well. "Now, one of the most important things is to keep your muscles loose, relaxed. Straining them won't help in their recovery. But once they're all properly recovered, you can start light training again, and then let it get more intense incrementally."

"Yes, of course." I breathe a sigh of relief when he says that. I really wasn't looking forward to insisting on it.

When the medical equipment finally arrives, I make sure to record everything regarding Gaara's current condition in the small notebook stashed in my medical kit. Heart rate, blood pressure, response of his pupils to light, I also take a swab of saliva and a small sample of blood to send into their small lab for analysis later. Everything is done with utmost care and completeness. I label each page of my makeshift medical journal according to time and day, planning to take his vitals every six hours. After all, it's not like he's going to sleep a full eight hours, so I won't be waking him up to check.

As I write in my book, Gaara watches me. "You have been awake since early yesterday, haven't you?"

"Yes." I scribble a little more in my book.

I see his features marred minutely by a frown. "You should rest."

"I'll rest once I'm sure that nothing is going to happen to you." My voice is clipped as I examine my observations again. "Your heart is beating slower than I'd like, and it stuttered a few times. Your blood pressure is also lower than I'd like it to be, which means that you'll need extra fluids while you rebuild your red cell count." I close my book and look up into watchful seafoam eyes. "We lost you already…and I'm not going to let your condition relapse. If that means that I have to stay awake for a whole week, then that's exactly what I'll do."

The declaration doesn't even make him blink. "And if I ordered you to sleep?"

"Then we will engage in a battle of wills, because I'm going to be as stubborn about this as Naruto is about finding Sasuke." That's not to say that I haven't been anticipating the day when we would see Sasuke again. I'm just not quite at the level of almighty stubbornness that Naruto is.

I'm still pretty close to it, though.

But as we stare each other down, one thing is painfully clear. This is going to be a long week.


	10. Sleep

**Now, I warn you. This chapter is not me leaning definitively one way or the other in terms of shipping. I honestly just want to see some bonding going on. That, and Ciara's paranoia is getting the best of her, and Gaara feels the need to intervene before something bad happens.**

 **So, just to point out the obvious, when you stay awake too long, things start to deteriorate. Judgment starts to go out the window, and logic gets skewed. So despite Ciara's stubborn determination, this is just here to show that even if she's capable of remaining calm and collected, she's not really operating on all cylinders here. A few marbles are missing. A few screws are wiggling loose.**

* * *

When I said that I would stay awake for a whole week, I meant it. I've been watching Gaara like a hawk, and ever six hours precisely, even if he's in the middle of a meeting, I make sure to take all of his vitals and record them in my book. And the results are looking promising.

The first couple of days, there were a few instances where I got a little jumpy about his condition, since he showed some fairly serious signs of fatigue. But because I was worried about potential brain damage, I treated it like a concussion, and woke him up every hour or so whenever he got a bit of sleep. Thankfully, it's turned out to just be exhaustion, there's no brain damage as far as I can tell. Which is something of a miracle, actually. I fully expected there to be some kind of brain damage, considering how long he'd been clinically dead.

Still, I've been on edge and downright paranoid the last few days, and I've been strictly adhering to a particularly nutritious diet for Gaara. Food as fresh as possible, full of vitamins, a few supplements, meats and other proteins to build up his muscles' integrity, and lots of mineral water to restore his body's hormonal balance. And thanks to that, even though his heart still isn't quite beating as strongly as I would like it, he's been improving by leaps and bounds.

But that doesn't mean that I'm ready to relax quite yet. I still feel jumpy about the whole thing, and my nerves are frayed and sensitive. Were I to take a step back and look at myself, I would say that I'm not in the most healthy frame of mind right now. In my defense, I don't think most people would be after seeing someone precious dead right before their eyes.

So I'm giving myself some leeway here.

* * *

I wish that I could say that my stay here has been an easy one, but since I'm not native to the Sand, I can't really expect any of the villagers to treat me with any kind of special respect. On the other hand, at least I don't have any of them glaring at me for being…well, what I am. And they certainly don't glare at me for being friends with Naruto, like some of those old idiots back home.

On the other hand, I'm pretty sure that the few dirty looks that I've been given while walking around Gaara's have more to do with how close I am to their precious Kazekage than anything else. Dirty looks like the one I'm currently getting as I walk down the hallway towards Gaara's office after my hour long break from watching Gaara to focus on a few lesson plans for the medical lessons that the hospital is starting in a few days.

Easily five foot ten, brown hair, dark eyes, and a frown all over his face that just oozes disapproval. Though at least he's being blatant and honest about not liking me. Some of the Sand ninja actually think they're being stealthy about it.

Still, I don't really like the look on his face. "Can I help you?"

His frown becomes a scowl. "What are you still doing here? I thought that you Leaf ninja went back to your village? What's a little girl still doing here?"

 _And…here we go._ "I'm here by request of your village for a special assignment. That assignment will be starting in a few days, and in the meantime, I'm spending my time with Gaara to watch over his health and make sure that nothing happens to him. Is that sufficient information for you?"

Apparently not, because his anger only seems to grow. "What could a disrespectful brat like you possibly do for Lord Kazekage that we can't?" He grabs hold of my arm, but I don't react in the slightest. "You should go back to your village and do whatever it is that genin do. Stop strutting around like you own this place."

His words make me twitch, so I pull my arm out of his grip and stare him down, not caring in the slightest that a few curious heads are poking around corners. "Obviously you're not very good at reconnaissance, otherwise you would know that I'm a jounin medical officer from the Hidden Leaf. I'm also part of the team that helped to bring Gaara back, so I have a lot invested in making sure that my friend is in good health. If you have a problem with that, then we can take this outside. But only after I've made sure that Gaara isn't going to just drop dead from a heart attack. Understand!?"

"There's no way that they would have made a brat like you a jounin, so go back to where you came from!" His hostility is only getting stronger, and honestly it bores me.

So I turn around, ignoring him, and start heading once more for Gaara's office. If nothing else, at least in there, no one will say anything. They're all too respectful of Gaara to make any overt comments of my presence there.

That might not have been the best move, however, as that only incenses the man. "So a brat is a coward too?"

I could dodge the attack easily, but instead of doing that, I just come to a stop as the shuriken whizzes through the air and cuts across my left cheek. The gesture annoys me a little, but I simply sigh. "Really? Throwing things at me because you're annoyed? How childish." I glance back at him, eyes burning red, orange, and gold. "Don't test me, you won't like it."

His eyes widen at the sight, and he clenches his fists. "You're-"

"Like Gaara was, yes." It's not something that I'm going to hide anymore. The Akatsuki know of me, so there's no point in trying to protect myself from them. And unlike Naruto, this is not something that I'm ashamed of. Sure, I used to be scared that it would drive people away from me, and I know that it probably still will drive people away. But my friends know, at least some of the story, and they accept me for who I am. One random Sand ninja isn't going to make me feel ashamed of myself.

He stays rather frozen, his eyes wide in fear, before a door opening, and a surprised voice interrupts us. "Lady Shiryugu!"

I repress the urge to groan as I look towards Gaara's door to see Matsuri there. "Yes, what is it? And don't call me that, it's too…formal."

She giggles softly. "Uh, then…Lady Ciara?" _She's really going to push this, isn't she?_

"Fine…what is it? Is there a problem?" If she's going to insist on calling me that, then I'm not really in a position to stop her. I mean, I can't chastise her for being nice.

Matsuri grows a little more serious. "Lord Gaara has been expecting you. He heard your voice in the hall and…" Her eyes travel to my cheek to see a few drops of blood running down it. "Milady, you're hurt!"

"I'm fine." The wound has already started healing anyway. "But why are you calling me that?" Last I checked, there were only a handful of people in the Sand who know anything about my past.

"Lady Temari told me!" Of course it would be Temari. It seems like she's Gaara's ambassador to the Leaf, so of course she would know things like that. Shikamaru probably told her. I'll have to talk to them about this later. The last thing I need is to be put on some pedestal, even unintentionally.

Approaching the door, I smile at her. "Well, alright. Anyway, I'm here now, so I'll take over looking after Gaara now. I promise that by the time I'm done, he'll be back to almost perfect health. And then we can work on curing that insomnia of his." Then, I glance at her headband and pat her on the shoulder. "Looks like being Gaara's student worked out well for you. Good."

That put a smile right back on her own face. "Yeah! I do my best to make him proud!"

"As well you should." I glance back once more at the frozen ninja. Of course he would be afraid where Matsuri isn't. After all, she's seen me like this before. And worse, actually.

Another figure appears at the door. This time, it's Gaara. "Ciara, are you coming inside now?" His eyes find my cheek, and something in his gaze hardens and darkens. "Are you alright?"

I nod and rub the blood off where the cut was. "You know me, it's already healed."

Despite the reassurance, his eyes find the rather stupid ninja who thought that attacking me was a good idea. "Masaru, go back to your duties. And do not make a habit of attacking my friends."

The ninja, Masaru, jumps as if a spooked horse, and turns tail, disappearing down the hallway like someone set him on fire. Though, to be fair, if he's stuck around much longer, I might have been the one to light his ass up. Matsuri quickly follows him, a frown prominent on her features. Knowing whose student she is, she's probably going to give him a hard time about bugging her teacher's friend. After all, I'm sure that Temari's influence probably extended to Matsuri's temper.

Now that the faces poking into the hall have disappeared, Gaara clears the way into his office, returning to his desk as I step inside the now very familiar room. "Will you tell me precisely what happened?"

Well, I only need to think about that for about two seconds. "No, it's fine. He was just being stupid. I'm sure that he won't do it again, or at least not so openly. So there's no reason for you to worry about it." Then I smirk softly as I walk over to the desk and plant myself there. "Besides, I think you nearly made him wet himself by popping up. That's more than enough retribution." And in fact, seeing the look on his face was definitely worth a scratch that healed in less than thirty seconds.

Gaara's eyes narrow slightly, but he says nothing more on the subject. He just makes himself comfortable before returning his attention to the same pile of paperwork that has been sitting there for days. And considering how quickly they bring new documents in for him, it's quite incredible to see the size of the dent he's made in the mountain of paper. That also means that it's time for me to get to work.

I've gotten quite good at taking his vitals while he works, calmly pressing my fingers here and there without restricting his movement at all. And so far, they're looking pretty good. Not perfect, of course, since it's only been a week since I would have pronounced him clinically dead, but very good, nonetheless.

As I scribble the results of the tests in my book on the edge of Gaara's desk, my eyes constantly flick towards him and his pile of paperwork. Despite my advice to take it easy, he's been insisting on catching up on all of the work he missed while he was off having his Tailed Beast ripped out by the Akatsuki, and now he's trying to get ahead on work. He's definitely good at being a village leader, despite the fact that he's not a whole lot older than me.

Still, I wish that he wouldn't work so hard.

When his pen suddenly stops moving, I blink at the lack of sound, and my head tilts to the right as he tugs on braid looped clockwise around my head. "Is something wrong, Gaara?" I can't think of any other reason that he would resort to getting my attention like that otherwise.

Before I can move into active medic mode, he plucks the journal out of my hands and raises a hand to my face, eyes flicking over me slowly. Then, his thumb brushes underneath my left eye. "You're exhausted."

That's true, but I'm not going to tell him that. "I'm fine. I'm strong enough to keep going like this a while longer." I don't remove either of his hands, though.

A frown creases his forehead slightly, then he shifts his chair back, letting his hands fall away, and gets to his feet. He takes a moment to wipe the blood off his hand with a dark cloth, reminding me that I still have a small smear of it on my face, which I quickly rub away. "I am going to go for a walk." The declaration is surprising, to say the least.

"A walk?" I twitch a little. "And are you planning on wandering around all on your own?"

He glances back at me as he steps towards the door. "No. You are coming with me."

 _Says who?_ But it's a stupid question, really. Of course I'm going with him, I've been attached to him like a stubborn thorn this whole past week. Why would that change just because he wants to go out for a walk? "Alright." Besides, it will be good for him to get back to exercising. It might also help with strengthening his heart a little to be doing gentle cardio.

So I slip off his desk and follow him out of his office, sticking close by his side. Whether by instruction or by instinct doesn't matter, I would stick to him like a barnacle either way.

At first, it surprises me when Gaara doesn't just walk around the building, but leaves it entirely. Then, I consider the fact that he's been cooped up inside for a week, and so have I. And honestly, it's nice to see the sky again.

I look around at the many buildings around us, as well as the people as I follow along just behind their leader. It's a rather foreign world to me, and their clothes look…rather stifling, actually. There are robes and head coverings all over the place. And considering how hot it is, I can't fathom the reason why anyone would want to wear clothes that look like they'd turn you into an oven. At least some of the ninja wear lighter clothing that can still protect them from the sand.

Even the aromas from various shops and food stalls are different, like nothing I've ever smelled before. This was one of the places that Jiraiya didn't bring us, since there's a pretty big lack of towns and villages here in the desert. That, and it was just easier to travel through the other countries instead. So my exposure here is limited at best.

Gaara glances back at me, slowing for a moment. I slow down as well, before I see him holding out his hand. "Come, you should eat."

Well, I don't know what eating has to do with holding his hand, but I digress. "Okay." If he wants to get food, I'm not going to stop him, even if he intends it for me. After all, if he gets me food, then it might make him want to eat as well, and that's not something I plan to discourage.

So, I allow him to take my hand and pull me about, until in minutes, I have a rather large meat bun pressed into my hand. And my large, I mean half the size of a human head. It's easily enough to be a whole meal. "I didn't know they made buns this big."

Gaara turns to me, his expression still quite calm and level. "They are meant to be eaten alone as a lunch. Temari beings them sometimes when I'm working."

"I see…that makes sense." I stare down at the meat bun, trying to figure out just how to consume it while he guides me away from the stall and further down the street. Finally, I decide to just open my mouth as wide as I can and take a huge bite out of it. The bun itself is a little sweet, but the meat inside is salty and a bit spicy, and the rich aroma fills my nose in an instant. "Mmm…"

"Do you like it?" Gaara watches me as I eat, his own wrapped up bun still untouched.

I swallow what I've bitten off, before smiling. "Yeah, it's really good. Well, not as good as peaches, but nothing is as good as peaches. But I can see why Temari would bring these for you for lunch." Then, I look on ahead as we keep walking, noticing that we're drawing more than a little attention from the civilians. Seeing that, I pull my hand away from Gaara's.

Or at least, I try to. But his grip on my fingers keep my hand firmly in place. Then, I feel something brush against my arm, and I look down to see little wisps of sand swirling up around me as I walk. It's like the desert itself is trying to protect me. Or at least, the one who controls it is. "Don't let it bother you. They just don't know you."

His reassurance makes me smile a little. "That's not what I'm worried about. It's just that if they see us like this, they're going to wonder and assume things."

"I am not afraid of a little gossip." He steers me further away from people, and off towards the back of the village, far away from the main gate.

"Well…maybe you should." I look back over my shoulder at the last few staring civilians, before they disappear from sight around buildings.

Gaara, on the other hand, seems to be well-practiced in ignoring the stares of his people, and he doesn't miss a single step as he guides the walk into a part of the village where the buildings begin to become sparse. It's odd, actually, I've grown so used to seeing the huge buildings made of rock that seeing open space is a bit surreal.

What's even more surreal is that there are trees here. Actual trees in the village. "It's…green here?"

"The village is built around an oasis." Gaara turns me towards the green spot that stands out starkly amongst the stone and sand. "It's a necessity here in the desert."

"Of course…" That makes sense, to build the village around a readily available water source. Otherwise, they would likely have a lot of trouble getting enough water to the population.

Still, as my eyes fall on the small lake that supplies water to the village, I can't help but feel like it's just too small to really support a desert population. Maybe…when all of this insanity surrounding the Tailed Beasts is dealt with, we might be able to find a way to have more water flowing into the desert.

Gaara tugs me over towards some trees on the edge of the small lake, before settling himself against the base of one of the trees. "Sit with me."

Sighing, I sink down towards the ground, a curious mix of sand and loose dirt. It's best to humor him for now, since I can always drag him back to the hospital in an instant if something goes wrong. "Do you come here often?"

"Sometimes." His eyes find me, and he watches me unblinkingly, which is quite a feat, considering all of the sand flying around. Though, I suppose that's just one of the advantages of having perfect control over it. "It's…peaceful here."

I look around at the sparkling water, the scattered trees, and the shrubs and bits of grass here and there. And he's right, it is peaceful. "Yeah, I guess it is…it reminds me of my mountain." Up there, I can sit on the edge of the lake, and there are trees all around the huge, pure blue lake, the residences off on the north side of the mountain, facing the village. It's similar to this place, just a whole lot greener, no sand to be seen, and the buildings are made of wood and stone.

Gaara smooths out his robes before his fingers tug on my braid, pulling out the tie and releasing all of the tension there as he slowly unravels the tightly wound chocolate plait. "You should rest, staying awake so long is detrimental to your health."

"Says the insomniac to his medic." I scoff lightly, but don't put up a fuss as he pulls down my hair. "I already told you, I can keep going a while longer like this. I'm stronger than you think."

Gaara pauses, before dropping his hand to my arm. "…I know that you are strong. But you are stubborn as well. I will be fine, so I want you to sleep."

My fingers twitch as images from that horrifying day return to the forefront of my mind. "Gaara…I held your dead body in my arms. Do you…have any idea how that felt? I woke up, and you were dead. And if I go to sleep…what if I wake up, and you're dead again? I can't…" I can't go through that again. I can't hold a corpse in my arms and cry over it again. If I do, I'll probably have a mental breakdown.

It's only when an arm wraps around me that I realize that I'm shaking like a leaf. "You need to sleep." He nudges me away slightly, before gripping my shoulder and laying me comfortably across his lap. "Sleep, I will be fine, I promise."

"But-" I bite my lip as my trembling diminishes slightly. "Something could happen to you while I'm not looking…"

Pale fingers brush through my hair and rub my stomach. "There is no reason for anything to happen now. And I am healthier now than I was a week ago. There is no longer a need for you to watch me so closely. So rest…because these circles do not belong around your eyes." I think that's the most I've heard Gaara say in one go since I met him.

Fear shoots through me, but the soft stroking of my hair soothes that fear. "You promise…?" I feel like a child that needs reassurance.

"Yes, now sleep." He stares down at me, unusual warmth in his eyes. Warmth that I'm quite glad to see. Because it's warmth that definitely wasn't there the first time we met.

I take a deep breath, relaxing my body slightly. It's true, Gaara's health has only been improving, and there's been no signs of a serious relapse. There is nothing to suggest that anything will happen to him if I go ahead and get a few hours of sleep. If I trust in my own abilities t make him healthy, then I should be more than capable of getting some sleep now. All that really holds me back is my fear of the worst, however unlikely it is. "Okay…but just for a little while."

He smiles slightly, which is really a wonderful thing to see. It's not like Naruto's bright grin, it's just a soft smile that conveys a world of warmth.

And that smile, that warmth is the last thing I see before my eyes close in sleep for the first time in over a week.


	11. Meeting the Medics

**Okay, so this chapter was pretty tough to write, just because it's got absolutely nothing to do with canon. So I'm making this up as I go along, and trying to set a little groundwork to use way later. I hope you all like it, though, and I'm trying to keep Gaara as in character as possible, while giving some room for him to actually show some emotions (which he doesn't do often, since he's usually got his Kage face on).**

* * *

My first thought, upon regaining consciousness, is that it's really hard to move. And I mean really hard. It's like I've been tied up or something. Not only that, but I have no idea what time it is, how long I've been asleep, or even where I am. It's all kind of…hazy.

Nevertheless, I open my eyes and turn my head around, trying to get some kind of grip on the situation. And…that's when I see it. I'm cocooned in a mass of blankets, wrapped up like a birthday present. And I have no clue why.

Maneuvering around carefully, I manage to get my left arm out of the cocoon of blankets, followed by my right, and then I can shuffle my way out of the mass of tightly wrapped fabric. Obviously I didn't get myself into that mess, which mens that someone put me to bed.

And looking around the room, I have a feeling that I know who would have such a large, though rather empty bedroom. _Man, he really needs to get a few hobbies…_ Though I do notice a few cacti scattered around the room on the windowsills. _Nevermind, he's got a hobby._

Then I notice the sun rising, and my heart nearly stops. _How long have I been asleep!?_ I jump out of bed, only to find that I'm in a nightgown now, and that my clothes are clean and folded on the bedside table. _Who changed me!? Oh please tell me it wasn't…_

But none of that is important right now. I strip off the nightgown in a hurry and pull on my clothes, grabbing hold of my hair tie and my medical kit as I race out of Gaara's bedroom.

I'm barreling down the hallway towards his office, since that's the place I really help to find him. And on the way, I nearly bowl Temari over. "Dammit!"

She dodges me just in time as I skid to a stop. "Ciara? What's your hurry?"

I turn on her, my nerves quickly starting to spark and fray. "Gaara, where is he!? I woke up in his room, well, I think it was his room, and-" I shake my head. "Where is he, and how long have I been asleep?"

She holds her hands out in a motion obviously meant to calm me down. "It's alright, Gaara's fine. But you're the one who's been unconscious for two and a half days. You shouldn't be running around like that. You need to rest."

 _Two and a half days?_ My blood runs cold. "I don't need to rest, I need to make sure that Gaara is okay. Now where is he?"

She sighs and points towards the council chambers. "He's in a meeting with the Council. You should wait outside for him."

"Right…" At least he's still able to work. If something happened to him in the council chambers, then surely someone would have sounded the alarm, probably Kankuro. Racing down the hallway once more, I head for where I feel the most chakra gathered. It should be the place where Gaara is.

I skid to a stop when I hear voices, and I lean against the wall, waiting. It would be wrong of me to intrude on a council meeting being held by another village, so I'm stuck out here until they're done.

Five minutes and half a dozen annoying old people later, one voice makes me breathe a sigh of relief. "Very well, this meeting is concluded." With the sound of shuffling people, the first of the Council come pouring out of the room. A few of them eye me a little suspiciously, but say nothing.

I sigh softly. "Well, that could have gone badly."

"You can come in now." Looks like Gaara knew I was out here.

I turn the corner and walk in through the doorway, and my heart immediately calms upon seeing Gaara's face. He's okay. Actually, he looks great, even better than he did when I last saw him. "I thought that you were going to let me have a short nap, not sleep for two whole days."

He doesn't even blink at the semi-accusation. "You needed the sleep. You would not have slept for so long if your body had not needed that time to recover. So, I gave it to you."

"No kidding…" I grumble a little as I walk over towards the chair he's sitting in. "Anyway, I need to take your vitals to make sure that you're doing better."

Gaara nods. "Alright. I've had Temari taking them the past two days while you were asleep, in case you wanted to review them."

"Good, then I'll make sure to take a look at them later." I start by examining his heart, and I'm actually rather astonished by how quickly it seems to have recovered while I was asleep. But, then again, that might just be because I missed almost a dozen checkups. I pull out my book, flipping through the pages to record my observations as I make them, and I notice that Temari's handwriting is scattered across nearly a dozen of those pages, and I smile as I see the progression, and then add my own notes to the mix.

And despite the fear that's almost crippled me for the past week and a half, I have to admit…Gaara is healthy. So, just to make sure, I let chakra fill my palm, and I touch his chest, searching for anything that might pose any kind of problem.

I find nothing.

Warmth fills me, along with a softly booming voice. _Chick, I do believe that its time for you to finally tell him. There is nothing more that you can do. He's going to be fine._ And there's my second opinion on the matter, helpful in this instance for washing away the remnants of my fear instead of potentially aggravating them, had he said that any earlier.

Finally agreeing with my reports, I nod and withdraw my hand from his chest. "Alright, I'm ready to call it." I take one last look at my notes, before closing up the book and smiling at Gaara. "You're healthy. Your improvements are definitely enough for me to call that, and I see no sign, or even potential for a relapse. Whatever that reanimation jutsu did, it's permanent, and you've suffered no lasting damage, despite basically having part of your soul ripped out." Well, another soul ripped out of his body, but they were bonded tightly enough that in the end…it doesn't really matter that they were separate people.

"I see. Thank you." Gaara is being surprisingly patient, considering that I was freaking out over him for a whole week. "And you have awoken at the right time. The hospital is starting the new training program in two hours."

That freezes me in my tracks, and then my brain whirs into motion. "I knew I was forgetting something!" The entire other reason that I'm still here. Tsunade approved their request to have me stay here for a month so that I could help to train their medics. "Well, then it's a good thing that I slept so long, I guess. Today is going to be a long day." Hen, something else occurs to me. "Hey, wait a minute…you put me to sleep in your bed! What gives!?"

Whatever expression I have on my face seems to amuse Gaara greatly. "You needed to sleep. It was the safest place for you."

"Of course it was…" Because who would ever think of attacking a foreign ninja asleep in the Kazekage's bed. _…That sounds so wrong…_

Gaara rises from his chair and moves to walk me out. "There is one thing. At the end of every day, I want you to come to my office and give me a report about the day's events at the hospital. Especially if you have any more incidents." I assume by that, he means the incident with that Masaru guy.

Sighing, I agree to it, since I can't actually refuse the request, and I would be an idiot not to report in at the end of the day anyway. "Fine. But remember that I'm entirely capable of solving my own problems. I won't hurt anyone, you know that. Well, unless they're an idiot and decide to do something stupid like attacking me first. But I doubt that you have more than a handful of idiots like that in the village. Every place has them. But I'll do my best to avoid actual confrontation. Okay?" All I can do is hope that he's pacified by that.

He's silent for a moment, then nods. "Then go ahead, they should be expecting you."

I smirk at the almost order. "Yeah, I know. Don't worry, I'll have your new medics well-trained by the time I leave. The last thing we need is the hospital getting overwhelmed and needing to call me and Sakura back here."

As I turn around, I can almost feel him rolling his eyes at the back of my head, mentally, if not physically. Maybe Naruto is rubbing off on me too much, but I feel almost…giddy right now. It's strange, my mood is rising and I don't know why. Maybe it's because Gaara is okay. That would explain it.

Waving goodbye, I race back out of his office and down the hallway, towards the closest open window to the hospital. After all, it's finally time to get to work.

* * *

When I walk into the largest of the public rooms, there's about a dozen medics, as well as double that in trainees waiting for me.

One of the medics approaches me, Ryokan, I think his name is. He was one of the medics attending to Kankuro when Sakura and I showed up. And…Sekka is the other one. "Lady Shiryugu, we're glad that you could make it. We heard that you had taken ill."

"I'm fine, I just needed to get some sleep is all." And that's perfectly true. There's really nothing that I haven't been able to sleep off in terms of injury or exhaustion. Even poison is not match for the chakra running through my system. "Now, have these trainees been tested for their chakra control and inherent abilities yet?" I'd rather know what I'm dealing with ahead of time. It'll save more time than the testing will waste.

Ryokan shakes his head. "We thought that you would want to do that yourself." And he is definitely right.

I nod, then turn to the trainees. "Alright, well clearly all of you applied to this discipline either because you have a talent for it, or you're stubborn enough to try and stick it out anyway. Either of those will take you far. First, though, I'm going to find out if any of you have a more developed aptitude for it. The test is relatively simple."

Reaching inside my mind, I remain perfectly calm. _You think that you can turn off the healing for a little while?_

 _…I can. But if I sense that your life is in danger or there is a threat, I will resume allowing my chakra to flow._ Seems like he understands what I plan to do without me having to explain it. That's good, it saves time as well.

Then, I open my eyes and remove one of my tanto from its sheath. Drawing it across my arm, a red line appears, and blood starts to bead the cut. "Alright, who wants to go first and try to heal that?"

My eyes flick around the room, before one young woman steps forward. "I'll give it a try."

"Good." I smile approvingly. "What's your name?"

"Etsuko, My Lady." Her dark eyes peek out from behind sandy hair.

I suppress the urge to groan. "Does everyone in the village know?"

Sekka coughs. "Uh, yes, Ma'am. Lady Temari made sure to tell every shinobi in the village that you were to be treated with great respect. It seems that there was an incident three days ago that required…intervention."

Well, three guesses what incident that was… "I see…anyway, let's just get this started. And there's no need to be that formal. I'd prefer just Ciara, but Lady Ciara will work if you can't help being formal." I'd rather not be s distant with them, but it would be rude to insist on a lack of respect if they want to show it.

Ugh…politics and diplomacy can be so complicated.

Still, I watch closely as Etsuko places her hand over the cut in my skin, her chakra traveling to her fingers as her face screws up in concentration. I can feel a tingling in my skin, a good sign. Of course, I don't expect her to actually be able to heal the cut, but so far, it looks like she's got quite the talent.

A minute later, she frowns frustratedly, before letting the chakra fade. "I'm sorry…I couldn't heal it."

"That's fine." I pull my arm back and smile at her. "You've got a talent for this. It just takes time to be able to focus it enough to actually heal someone. Even I had to practice to get to where I am now." Though, to be honest, most of it was more out of necessity than actual practice, but…they don't need to know that. Then, I look past her into the small crowd of trainees. "Alright, I want each of you to come here and let me test you. Then, I want you to organize yourselves by specialization. Internal and external trauma, surgery, pharmaceuticals and poisons, physical therapy, and chakra-induced injuries."

At my command, the trainee medics start moving, forming a line and approaching me to try and heal my arm, before moving on and organizing themselves into the appropriate groups. The groups should make it easier to train the specializations whenever they're not working on a general medical education. They'll get all the basics, of course, but it's good to have specialists of all kinds around who can deal with the serous cases, but can still be flexible enough to cover another position if they're needed.

It takes about forty minutes to get through all of the trainees, but by then, I've gotten a sense of the highest and lowest levels of skill in the room. And it's definitely something I can work with.

"I'm here!" A familiar voice echoes through the air as the other trainees move about, a new figure entering the room.

Ryokan's attention turns to the door. "Masaru, you're late, we've already started."

 _Oh no…not this idiot again…_ I turn towards the door to see that same chunin from before. I had hoped that he was just a combat ninja. But…it would seem that he's here to attend the medical program. "Sorry, I got wrapped up with helping to finish the cleanup from the attack." Then he catches sight of me and freezes. "You!?"

"Me." I glance down at the cut in my arm, now mostly healed from the combined efforts of the many trainees. So, I reopen it and hold it out to him. "If you're here for the medical program, then come here and show me how much talent you have. Try to heal this cut."

He bristles at the order, but approaches anyway, chakra making his palm glow even brighter than any of the other trainees. He holds his hand over my arm, his face screwing up in concentration. He's stronger than the others, significantly so. And under his touch, the cut closes up completely.

I raise an eyebrow, then inspect my arm. "Well done. I can see why you applied for the program." Then I look around at the various groups. "Alright, pick from trauma, surgery, poisons and medicines, physical therapy, and chakra wounds. You'll have a chance to switch specializations if you don't fit well with your first choice. Then, you'll start with textbooks, before moving into your first practical lessons tomorrow."

He nods stiffly, looking around towards the various groups. And surprisingly, he goes for the group with the smallest number of members, containing only Etsuko, one other trainee, and Ryokan. Chakra-inflicted injuries. That's…ironic, to put it mildly.

Once everyone is settled, I clap my hands for their attention. "Alright, now that you're in your groups, I'll outline exactly what I'm going to be doing during the next three weeks. I'll be rotating around the various groups a bit, providing some instruction for the various disciplines. But my main focus will be on the chakra injuries group, since that's something of a personal specialty of mine, apart from physical trauma." And by personal specialty, I mean that training with Naruto demanded that I learn it on the fly. Trial and error was my teacher, and she was a brutal mistress.

I see anger flash in Masaru's eyes. "Why are you training us, anyway? Shouldn't we train our own ninja?" And there he goes again. I still don't quite get why he hates me so much.

Well, no time like the present for finding out. "I'm here because Baki requested it of the Hokage. If there's an issue with that, take it up with him. Then again, you really don't seem to like me. Why? I haven't actually done anything to you, at least nothing that would warrant this much hostility. So what's your problem?" Not that I'm not thinking about doing something to him right about now.

He twitches like an angry cat. "My problem is that you strut around like you own this village. You talk to our Kazekage with no respect, and you order him around like he's your dog! You don't even use proper formalities when addressing him! What makes you so special!?"

Everyone goes dead quiet, and more than a few pairs of eyes are fixed on me, waiting for me to answer him. "What makes me so special?" I scoff quietly. "How about the fact that I actually care what happens to Gaara? This village hated him for over a decade…and you dare ask me what makes me so special!?" I glare at him, gritting my teeth to contain my anger. "Even before he became your Kazekage, I cared for him in ways that none of you could ever understand. To me, he is not just the leader of a foreign land, he is my kin. And I don't care if you don't like me ordering him around. If I want to get paranoid about his health, then I will damn well do so, and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

"Oh yeah!?" He advances on me and grabs me by the arm. Big mistake.

My eyes glow like the sun and I grab the wrist attached to the hand holding my arm in a vice grip, then, I click my tongue and flip him over my head, slamming him into the ground and pinning him there as much with my body as with my angry gaze. "You wanna screw with me, do so at your own risk. I'm a lot stronger than you are, and you're lucky that I have a rule about hurting people. This is the worst I'll do to you unless you push me. And know that it is out of respect for one of my best friends that I haven't done anything serious to you. Don't get me riled up again."

I leave the warning hanging in the air, perfectly aware that the entire room can see my eyes and the red, feathery markings around my eyes and the edges of my face. And I refused to be ashamed of that like the first time I let someone else see me like this.

Sekka coughs pointedly. "Perhaps we should get on to assigning lessons and duties."

"Right." I take a deep breath, and all of my demonic features recede. "Those in the trauma unit will be working the emergency room, those in the surgery unit will be working in the OR, poison and medicine group, you'll be spending a lot of time in the greenhouse, the ones doing physical therapy will be studying in the long-term care ward, and all five of the groups will be spending their mornings doing theory, and their afternoons at their assigned posts."

Etsuko raises her hand. "What about our group?"

I smirk at her question. "Those learning how to deal with chakra-induced injuries will be working with me in the afternoons for practical training. I can make the kinds of injuries that you're going to be healing, and healing them are my own specialty on top of that, so training with me will reduce the risk, while providing the perfect environment to learn in. Get it?"

She nods, then her eyes fall on Masaru. "Are you planning on causing more problems for Lady Ciara? Because if that's the case, Lord Kazekage won't be happy about it."

"Yeah, cause she's got him in her pocket." He glares at me once more.

I shoot him a withering look. "I don't have anyone in my pocket. I have friends. And yes, I can have friends, despite what you might think. But that's not the point. The pint is simple. Either suck up whatever issues you have with my presence here, or leave, because I've got no patience for idiots. And you'll only prove yourself to be an idiot if you insist on butting heads with me." This guy just drives me right up the wall. _And he's supposed to be older and more mature than me? Right._ "And remember, the specialization you picked is the one I'll be teaching personally. So, are you in or out?"

I can see him gritting his teeth, and surprisingly, there's a stubborn determination in his eyes. "I don't like you, but I'm not changing my mind. You aren't going to scare me off."

Despite his bad attitude, I feel the need to smirk. "Gonna be stubborn about it, huh?" I can respect his guts, if nothing else. "Then do your studying, get a idea of what we're going to be doing, and then meet me at the training grounds behind the Kazekage mansion at noon. East light, and be prepared to use a lot of chakra, because you're getting a crash course." Because easy training is for academy students, not experienced ninja. Because you're going to have both of us teaching your group."

His eyes narrow. "Both of you?"

"Yeah, me and the very friendly demon sealed into my stomach." I mean, that is what he freaked out about earlier. "And that's not a joke, he really is quite nice." At this point, it doesn't really matter if the whole world knows what I am. The only ones I'm worried about already know very well who I am. Because I doubt that shark man has kept his mouth shut for three whole years. "So, still have a problem with me? Or are you going to pick another fight with a jinchuuriki?" If he's going to hate me, might as well give him something to hate me for.

He twitches, but stays silent, his eyes judging my every move. He's got those eyes. And it just makes me sigh. It's not often that I'm the one on the receiving end, but this isn't the first dirty look I've gotten for being what I am. Fortunately, he's the only one in the room giving it to me. That helps a little.

Sekka coughs quite loudly. "I believe that that's enough for one day. You all have your assignments and your books. Be sure to study carefully before practical training begins tomorrow. And no more disruptions." He turns his gaze on Masaru. "Lady Ciara is an esteemed guest, and she will be treated as such. Is that understood?"

Masaru looks like he's swallowed bitter medicine. "…Yes sir…" He's probably going to be a lot more trouble in the future than just this.

Still, I'm not one to walk away from a challenge like that.

* * *

That doesn't make it any more comfortable to be back in Gaara's office at the end of the day, sitting on his desk, with seafoam eyes staring expectantly at me.

He heard bout the incident.

"…Okay, I admit that I lost my temper for a bit. But that guy was seriously asking for it." I cross my arms and look crossly out the window. "I just…didn't like how he was just deciding on his own that our friendship meant nothing."

Gaara's eyes narrow. "You did not have to tell him that you carry a demon within you. The villagers will begin to spread rumors."

I scoff at the comment. "I know. Let them. I refuse to be ashamed of what I am. Besides, it's not like they can hurt me, Masaru tried and failed that already. The Akatsuki already want me dead, so it's not like this will make them come after me any faster. In the end, there's no point in hiding.

Gaara's hand touches mine. "I can have him removed from the medical program."

"And have him accuse me again of having you in my pocket? No thank you." That is one accusation in particular that I really don't like. "I can fight my own battles, Gaara. And if that means that I'm fighting the opinions of your villagers, then that's what I'll do. Besides, this way, there's no secrets and no lies. Their opinions are mostly neutral, but they won't get any worse. In the spirit of following Naruto's philosophy, it's time to work at their opinions from the bottom up."

Surprisingly, Gaara's expression softens. "Then know that I am here, if you need a friend."

The sentiment is sweet, really. "Thanks, but I'll be okay, I promise. It'll take more than the disapproval of one wannabe medic to get me down. Besides…" And here, I grin mischievously. "He agreed to go ahead with the training. And he's going to wish that he'd never ticked me off." Because I'll still train him, of, he's not getting out of that. But the difficulty level might just go up a few notches.

This is going to be very interesting.


	12. The Despair of a Dragon

**Okay, so it seems like I'm revealing a couple of things a bit too slowly. So, in the interest of explaining Ciara's character a bit more, I've decided to start this chapter a different way, and do multiple P.O.V. changes, rotating between three people. This, I hope will explain some of the…inconsistencies that I've sown throughout the story. Because I do realize that she's had a few rather sudden…personality changes that seem to come out of nowhere. From one extreme to the other at times.**

 **Well, I think it's about time to let Tsunade explain it. Because I've been holding onto this detail for over a year, and I've just been waiting for the right time to officially drop it into the story.**

 **I would say enjoy, but this chapter is going to get kind of dark for a bit. So…if you have triggers surrounding depression and contemplation of suicide (not very explicit) then you can go ahead and skip down to Gaara's P.O.V. But most of the chapter is kind of depressing, except for the part where it perks back up. But anyway, here's a lot of the reasoning behind how I've done her character. And more backstory. Lots of fun backstory that Tsunade and Shikamaru are trying to unravel and interpret.**

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

 _Help me!_

 _They're coming…_

 _The Akatsuki!_

 _Run, go now!_

* * *

I wake with a start, the dream still playing vividly in my mind. Fu, Han, Yagura, and even Gaara as well. I should have known that if I went to sleep, that they would haunt my dreams. I can never escape them, no matter how much I want to. And no matter how much I shouldn't.

 _Is this a punishment for not being able to save them? For letting them die…instead of me?_

I feel so cold, numb, devoid of energy. And despite the first small rays of early morning sunlight streaming in through the windows, everything looks so dark and void of color. Exhausted, but held there by bonds unseen, unable to close my eyes more than halfway.

My gaze drops to the floor. I feel helpless, I feel afraid. I feel like I am falling into a void, and there's nothing…nothing but emptiness and pain. I want to cry, but I just…can't.

And I don't know why. I just…don't have the will to do…anything, really. After all, what good am I if I can't even prevent the death of someone I care about? What purpose do I serve in the end, if I can't even do what I'm supposed to do? What's the point…of existing…?

It's so dark…so cold…so empty…I'm so alone…

 _Would they…be better off without me? With one less of us around? One less demon host? One less monster for them to fear?_

 _If I released him…then the Akatsuki wouldn't get him. That would make everyone a little safer… And he could be free, instead of trapped inside me. Trapped inside of a useless host._

It's never been this bad before. It's never been so bad that I couldn't even hear his thoughts. But I would give almost anything to hear someone else's rather than my own.

I curl back up in the bed, silent tears running down my cheeks as I gaze listlessly at the corner of the bed, unable to muster the energy to even fall asleep.

There's a brown eye. But I don't care. I just…don't care…

* * *

Gaara's P.O.V.

The sand returns to my palm as I consider what my third eye has seen. It may not be the most appropriate thing to do, but Ciara's behavior lately has me concerned. Hence, the need to watch her, just in case something else were to occur.

Her eyes were so dark and empty that it frightens me. It frightens me because it means that she might fall into that same darkness that once consumed me.

On the other hand, when she is with others, her demeanor changes instantly. She can be confident, overly so in some instances, perhaps to reassure others, but perhaps to convince herself as well.

Alone…there's no light in her eyes, no life, only fear and despair. Brought about by that nightmare no doubt. I only wish I knew what the nightmare was about. That would tell me how to help her.

But as I'm no doctor or psychologist, there's only one recourse, only one person who knows her well enough and enough about medicine and the mind to make a sound judgment.

I reach across my desk for a piece of paper and a pen, and begin to write.

It's a private letter to the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, requesting a psychiatric diagnosis.

* * *

Tsunade's P.O.V.

"My Lady!" Shizune rushes into my office yet again, still without my sake, and a slightly panicked look on her face. "We have a problem!"

"What is it now?" Honestly, sometimes I feel like all I do is deal with one problem after another. Would it kill people to not cause problems for once?

She hands me a scroll, sealed up with the Kazekage's seal. "It's a letter from Lord Kazekage. The original scroll that it was wrapped in instructed us to deliver the scroll inside to you and only you, and that it was a medical emergency!"

"Again?" I got the report on Kankuro's condition, and I assume that Ciara is doing her best to watch over Gaara as he recovers from his run in with the Akatsuki. "What are they asking about now?"

Breaking the seal, I unroll the scroll and read the contents carefully.

 _ **To Lady Tsunade, Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves,**_

 _ **I would like to thank you for the help provided by your village in my rescue, and all of the efforts are deeply appreciated.**_

 _ **Which is why I regret to inform you that I have concerns surrounding Lady Ciara Shiryugu and her behavior lately.**_

My mouth twitches irritably. "Is she causing trouble over there? I know that she and Naruto can cause trouble but…"

 _ **Though it pains me to have invaded her privacy, after certain outbursts of hers, well merited by the ninja who accosted her outside of my office, and again while she was teaching the medical students, I have discovered something rather disturbing.**_

 _ **Firstly, for the first week that she was here, she was quite obsessively watching over my health, and has kept a detailed journal in which she records each of the four daily check-ups. That, in itself, is fine. However, she appeared almost paranoid regarding my health, and was quite panicked when her body shut down and slept for two days, leaving me without her supervision.**_

I bite my lip, frowning at the paper. _Paranoia? Well, from what Kakashi told me, Ciara and Naruto didn't take Gaara's death and revival very well, so I can't fault her for being worried. Still…_

 _ **Secondly, I have noted that when Naruto was here, Ciara was quite energetic. Her confidence was admirable, if a little overzealous. But her heart was in the right place. However, she has also been prone to bouts of temper from time to time.**_

Well, the temper I saw coming. The girl is usually rather calm, but I've seen her temper flare more than once. Though, considering the stress she's been under since long before I met her, I can hardly hold it against her if she feels overwhelmed.

 _ **Lastly, by keeping an eye on her as she slept, I discovered that immediately after having a nightmare, she displayed symptoms that I find rather alarming. It was as though her spirit had left her body, like she had seen someone die right in front of her eyes in that moment. There were tears, but no life in her eyes, only darkness. I found this change in her demeanor startling, and began writing this letter immediately after my discovery.**_

 _ **I am not versed in medicine or psychology, so I cannot say whether she is in good health or not, though I would suspect the latter. Therefore, I would like your opinion on the matter. If there is something that can be done for her, I would like to know so that I might be able to change things. Any help you can provide would be appreciated.**_

 _ **Sincerely,**_

 _ **Lord Kazekage of the Village Hidden in the Sand,**_

 _ **Gaara of the Desert**_

My eyes widen at the list of observations. I knew that the child wasn't normal, that much is obvious when you're a jinchuuriki. But she always seemed…fairly well-adjusted.

It seems that observation was wrong.

Now, what frustrates me is that I have no root cause for this. What it sounds like is one thing, adolescents and their mood swings can be alarming at times, but not always a need for concern. However… "Shizune!"

My assistant stands tall in an instant. "Yes, Ma'am!?"

"Bring me all of Sarutobi-Sensei's journals, and have Izumo and Kotetsu search the storehouse for my grandfather's journals! Shikamaru should be back from his mission now. I want him looking into the archives for any mention of the Shiryugu Clan." After all, when dealing with clans, even ones that barely exist anymore, the first thing to do is to get as much research done on them as possible, before making any kind of diagnosis. Because while I might think it's one thing, for all I know, I could be missing something important and make the wrong assumptions. In the worst case scenario, such an oversight can be fatal.

If there's going to be anything written about that clan, then it will probably be in the older books, from the founding of the Leaf to about fifteen years ago. _Damn it, why didn't I think to get more detailed records on Ciara while I had the chance? I should have known that something was going to happen._

"Yes Ma'am!" Shizune races out of my office like there's a demon at her heels.

I, on the other hand, get up calmly and go to the bookshelves, looking for something, anything that might explain just what the hell is going on with one of the village's most promising shinobi.

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

I take a deep breath and bounce slightly on the balls of my feet as I head out to the training grounds. Today is the day that I start training the new medics.

 _…Chick, are you certain that you can do this?_

Stretching my arms above my head, I look up at the sun and smile. _Yeah, I can do this. I can't let the nightmares get to me forever, right?_

 _…Chick, I do not believe that the issue is as simple as that._

I sigh and start feeling cold again. _I know. But I have to do something, or I'll go crazy. So please…just help me with their training today. I just have to do something, and it'll stave off the problem for a while._ Because honestly, I have no clue how to deal with any of dwelling on it without being able to do anything about it is dangerous. I have the presence of mind enough to realize that, at least.

 _Very well. Just be careful, Chick. I would not wish you to release me…not until you are old, your hair turned gray, and as wrinkled as what you call a prune._ His words are soft, warm, gentle, and they bring light and heat back inside me.

Clenching my fists determinedly, I nod. _Yeah, alright. You're going to be around while I grow old and wrinkled, and by then, the Akatsuki will be gone, and everyone will be happy and safe. This is the first step to making sure that happens, teaching others to heal like I can._

And when the sun reaches its apex in the sky, I see the three trainees and one experienced medic walking out onto the training field. I greet them as warmly as the desert sun above our heads. "It's good to see that you've made it. Let's get started with the lesson, shall we?"

Masaru frowns. "How exactly are you planning on teaching us?"

I hold up my hands and let chakra flow around them. "I'm going to teach you by forcing you to heal something you've never healed before. If you want to make it, you will learn to feel the ebb and flow of your own chakra well enough to increase the intensity to the level required to deal with chakra wounds. They're unlike any other wounds in that the chakra is powerful enough to almost act like a poison. Its hard to heal, and only intense bursts of chakra can act as the antidote. Understand?"

Etsuko nods. "I think so. But how hard is this going to be to learn?"

"Very hard." I'm not going to sugarcoat it for them. "I learned these skills because I had to, because my friend's life depended on it. You're going to have to train with me like someone's life depends on it, because if you don't, you'll probably give up halfway." In fact, the only thing that kept me going, despite wanting to give up a few times, was knowing that Naruto and Jiraiya were depending on me to heal them. I couldn't just leave them like that, not then, not ever.

Ryokan, looking rather calm, watches me intently. "Alright, then what is the first lesson?"

"Well, that depends." I hold out my hand to them. _Can you do it like I asked and only let the destructive half of your chakra out?_ The reason that Suzaku's chakra never harms me is because it's balanced, because he's not ripping off and burning my skin like the fox does to Naruto. "How high are your pain tolerances, and who wants to go first? Because this is going to hurt."

 _Yes, I can. However, it will affect you too, so be cautious in handling it._ I can feel him pulling back most of his chakra, leaving only a slight burning feeling in my fingertips.

Surprisingly, it's Etsuko who steps up first. "I'm not afraid of pain or of hard training. I'll do it first."

"Alright, then." I reach my hand out, the chakra burning my skin just a little as I wrap my fingers around her left wrist, burning the skin there with the chakra twisting around my fingers.

She gasps loudly, before biting her lip and groaning lowly as I draw my hand away. Then, she examines her wrist, reddened by Suzaku's more dangerous chakra. "What…is this?"

"A Tailed Beast's chakra can cause the kind of chakra wounds that you're studying to learn how to heal." I look down at the red mark and touch the air just beside it, being careful not to touch the skin and aggravate the wound. "So, your first assignment is to heal your arm. It's not a serious wound, but it'll hurt if you handle it improperly. If you start to feel relief, then you're doing it properly. There's only so much that you can learn from a textbook here. Sometimes, you just have to feel it to figure it out."

"I see…so that's it." She frowns at it, before gathering chakra in her hand and closing her eyes, clearly focusing hard on the wound.

"And what if she can't heal the wound?" Masaru watches me with a suspicious gaze. "What then?"

"If it turns out that she can't heal the wound herself, then I'll just heal it for her. After all, I have experience healing these kinds of wounds." I turn to him next. "So, are you going to accept the first assignment, or are you going to switch disciplines?" It's not quite an ultimatum, it's too gentle to be one, but still, he has to make a choice.

While Masaru remains silent, Ryokan holds out his arm. "I would learn this as well, if you'll let me."

"Of course." My fingers move again, creating a decently sized wound on his arm. "You have more experience than them, so it should talk you less time to figure out how concentrated the chakra needs to be in order to effectively neutralize the chakra there and heal the wound.

"Neutralize the chakra…" His brow furrows. "So that's it…" Apparently, he has some kind of idea now. That's good. I rather like having intelligent students, it makes it easier to teach.

"Me next." The third trainee holds out his arm. "I'm Katsuo."

"Alright Katsuo, I look forward to seeing you work hard." I grab onto his wrist for a moment, leaving behind a burn in the shape of my hand. And predictably, he hisses with pain, but he doesn't cry out. It looks like these trainees are tough ones. Gaara should be proud. I look forward to seeing them succeed.

Then, I turn to Masaru, who holds out his arm for me. "Do it."

Well, not the reaction I was expecting, but good enough. "Fine." I grasp his arm, hard, leaving the biggest of all the burns. "Lets see how you deal with that."

He glares at me sourly, before turning his attention to the wound on his arm, holding his hand over it, his eyes narrowing in concentration.

"Alright, you all have your assignments. Now, do your best and keep focused. As soon as something changes, I'll give you another instruction or tip. Until then, focus on the healing and not on the pain. If nothing changes after four hours,I'll heal you myself and we'll try again tomorrow afternoon." Now, I just sit back and watch. We'll do this exercise every day, until they can heal the wounds quickly and completely. Once they can do that, they'll be able to apply the technique not only to chakra-induced injuries, but to most other medical ninjutsu for better results. A convenient side-effect of this kind of harsh training.

"Yes Ma'am!"

* * *

Gaara's P.O.V.

She's out there with the trainees, and I watch as she wounds them slightly, leaving them to learn to heal in a practical manner. It's a good idea, if a little on the dangerous side. I'm not privy to the detail surrounding how she developed this particular skill, but I would guess that it had something to do with Naruto. Then again, that can be said for a lot of things. Naruto's influence on others is…vast.

For now, though, I'll watch her. And she seems to be back in higher spirits now, well, more like moderate spirits, and she's taking well to her role as a teacher. She's firm with them, as she needs to be, but not merciless. I can see, even from my office window, that she's watching them as well, hoping for them to succeed. It's there in her eyes, now that life has returned to them.

I just wonder how long that will last. And how long will it be before her eyes grow dead again?

* * *

Tsunade's P.O.V.

Shikamaru sits in my office with me, rifling through the pile of journals and documents that we've collected while Shizune is off making us more tea. We've been in here for hours, and it feels like we've made no progress at all. There is infuriatingly little that we've found in the archives that have anything to do with the Shiryugu, which meas that we'll likely be relying on my sensei and my grandfather's journals to give us the clues we need.

This has to be the fifth journal that I've read through. All of the ones until now have detailed the war before the village was established, but this one is talking about settling down and creating the village. It mentions Madara Uchiha to an alarming degree, but as he helped to found the village, that's not really all that surprising.

About halfway into the journal, I come across a name. Naomi Shiryugu. So I back up a little and read the entry for that day.

 _ **Today, we came across a valley, a perfect place to establish the village of our dreams. There is plenty of land to farm, rivers and lakes for waters, and a forest to hide us in. But there is a problem. The region is already inhabited.**_

 _ **We went to meet with their leader, a young woman with hair of chestnut and eyes the color of emeralds, a beautiful woman, to be sure. She called herself Naomi, the head of the Shiryugu Clan, its lady.**_

 _ **Lady Naomi invited us in, both Madara and I, along with a small delegation from each of our clans. Mount Tenryuu, they called the place. And the buildings were old, older even than our clans, I think. Everything about the place seemed almost otherworldly.**_

 _ **There to treat with her as the head of the clan that had long since taken up residence in the region, what I did not expect to see was ethereal dragons soaring overhead. Dragons, just like the ancient tales of the time before shinobi, before humans gained power. I hadn't thought that any dragons remained, but there they were, flying freely through the sky.**_

 _ **When I asked her how her clan lived so closely with the dragons, she said "I am a dragon too. We are a clan of dragons, and descendants of dragons. I am the head of this clan because I am the strongest dragon, the one who can protect our family best. It is what we are made for, after all. A dragon is nothing, but a protector of their loved ones."**_

 _ **I was stunned by her words. And so, I asked her if they were a clan of gods, like in the old stories. She laughed and said "Gods? That is a human word, created to refer to us, to our ancestors, to those who came before. I claim no such title for myself.I am what I am. A dragon. Whether humans consider me and my kin to be gods or not is not my concern. My only concern is for the well-being of my family. I am their protector, their leader, and the one who loves them most."**_

 _ **Further shocked by her words, we spent the next hours treating with her for the right to build a village at the base of their sacred mountain, their home, the home of what we considered to be gods. And we believed that under their protection, the village would prosper. Because Lady Naomi agreed to the inclusion of that duty in the treaty, that the Shiryugu Clan would protect our village and allow us too live and prosper from the wealth of their home.**_

 _ **The last words she spoke to me that day, as we left the beautiful home that her family shared were "A dragon hoards treasure, and a Shiryugu hoards family. Never steal a dragon's treasure." And in those words, I found myself hoping that she would consider the village to be family as well, the newest addition to their treasure hoard.**_

The entry is shocking, but also saddening, and terrifying, all at the same time. _A treaty? I've never heard of a treaty before._ And there's something else, the fact that the clan is gone. _Who would dare to attack and annihilate the clan that agreed to provide resources and protection to the village?_

That's when a few disturbing observations start to fall into place. This woman, the clan head called Naomi, my grandfather said that she claimed that a dragon's purpose was to protect their family, and that she was the one who loved them the most. She sounds pleasant, and most importantly, she sounds stable.

Ciara, in contrast, lost everything at a young age, or so I've gathered from what the head of my ANBU has told me. It's rather convenient to have access to someone closely, but not directly related to the fallen clan.

I rub at my temples. _Okay…so Naomi Shiryugu was mentally stable, from what I can tell, and she was surrounded by family and dragons._ The dragons part concerns me, but since I haven't seen a dragon since the last war, I have to take them out of the equation, along with any family Ciara might have had. _Naomi was surrounded by people all of the time. Ciara is not. Her clan is dead. Well, she's got Naruto and Jiraiya for company, well until that old fool wandered off again. And now she's in the Sand with the Kazekage…_

"Lady Tsunade, I think I have something." Shikamaru holds out a book for me. "You might want to see this. It's a medical account about one member of that clan. And it's…strange."

"Strange, how?" I reach out for the book and glance over the medical report. "It says…that Nori Shiryugu, who fought during the second shinobi war was admitted to the hospital two years after the war ended, having been taken prisoner and presumed dead after a battle in which several of his clansmen were killed. His mental state upon recovery…showed that he reacted well to the presence of his clan members, and that he showed remarkable improvement in just a few days and was released from the hospital and taken home in high spirits." It sounds like a fairly normal, if somewhat miraculous report. "Alright? So what?"

Shikamaru's eyes darken, and I know it can't be good. "Look on the next page."

Frowning, I flip the page, reading the contents. "Nori Shiryugu…readmitted to the hospital with serious injuries after a long mission taken alone. Injuries were found to be self-inflicted, and an apology written in blood was found at the scene, written by Nori's hand, and in his own blood. Daisuke Shiryugu,the clan head and Nori's older brother, confirmed that Nori was one of the few in his clan who possessed their unique kekkai genkai. It is unknown if this contributed in any way to the frequent changes in mood suffered by the patient. Precautions have been taken to ensure that Nori's suicidal actions are curbed, however his condition continues to worsen. On a good day, he is cheerful and polite, and expresses none of the alarming signs we have come to see in him. However, when his mood changes, he becomes despondent and unresponsive, except for the desire to seemingly end his own life. Upon examination of the levels of chemicals in his blood and in his spinal fluid, our results were inconclusive, as the levels were those unseen in any human we have tested." My eyes travel up from the pages of the book to see Shikamaru unusually focused. "What do you make of this?"

He glances down at the book, before placing his hands together and breathing deeply. "Well, apart from the fact that the guy was some kind of bi-polar, who knows what they could have done to him while they had him imprisoned. I'm no expert, but I would say that it probably traumatized him."

"Yes…that would be a reasonable conclusion to make." None of it sounds good, but the parallels are there, and glaringly obvious. "Ciara lost her family when she was five years old. And according to her uncle, she saw her entire family estate covered in bodies and blood. That would be traumatic for any child. And if she's showing the same symptoms as her great-uncle, then we could have a suicidal jinchuuriki on our hands." And that's a situation I would rather avoid, seeing as the Asatsuki are on the loose and looking for her and Naruto.

"Well…" Shikamaru picks up my grandfather's journal, his eyes racing across the page I marked as interesting. "Do you think that she might be one of these 'dragons' too?"

In a way, I hope not, since that would complicate things even more. But in another, I hope that she is, since that would be a good thing for the village, at least according to my grandfather. "I don't know. According to the journal, if she is, then it would make her something akin to a god, well, at least to us. But it seems to come with its fair share of problems."

"Yeah…" Shikamaru fingers the page, the look on his face an interesting one. "Here…it says that the old clan head said that a Shiryugu hoards family the way a dragon hoards treasure. If you take the dragons to be them, and the treasure to be a metaphor for their family…then what would happen if you took away their family? Their treasure?"

"I guess they'd have a meltdown or something, or start breathing fire into the sky." It's a kind of funny notion, but only for a second. Then Nori's case comes to mind. "Or show signs of depression. Take away their family, and the dragon has nothing more to live for."

"And if that's what's happening to her…and the trauma is causing problems, then something needs to be done and fast to stop her from hurting herself, or worse." Shikamaru's conclusion is right, but there's a gaping hole in it. "There's medication for that, isn't there, Lady Tsunade?"

"There is, but there's just one problem." _Why can't that girl just make this easy for us for once?_ "Medication is metabolized out of her system before it has a chance to take effect. And on the other hand, the report says that Nori's brain chemistry was unlike anything they'd seen in humans. So if we assume that her brain chemistry is similar to her uncle's, then medication might not have any effect on her at all, even if we can get it to stay in her system long enough. And disrupting that balance might make things even worse."

Shikamaru sighs. "Troublesome…this means that she's bi-polar, and we can't do anything about it, right?"

"Well, for now, this is all just speculation. But if I had to make a diagnosis based on the information I have, her symptoms and family history, then I would say that she is suffering from a moderate case of manic depression, potentially compounded by post-traumatic stress disorder, and could develop into a more severe case if left alone. But we can't treat it with medicine because it metabolizes out of her system, and we wouldn't know how it interacts with her brain chemistry. We could make it worse without knowing it." I bite my nail, irritated and worried in equal measure. "Why does everything have to be so complicate with those two?"

Shikamaru closes up the book with a snap. "Well, then it looks like the closest thing we've got to medicine is Naruto. He's the closest she's got to family, isn't he? I mean, they're together almost all the time. And he never said anything about this, so I guess it just didn't come up much while they were on the road with Master Jiraiya."

That's true, it never did come up. And I would think that Jiraiya would mention it if something like this was happening on a regular basis. Which means that this is a more recent development. _But what's happened recently that could trigger…?_ Gaara. "Of course, it was triggered by Gaara's capture."

"Hm…you might be right about that." Shikamaru yawns pointedly. "I mean, if that journal was right, and that Naomi woman was supposed to protect her whole clan, then if something happened to them, if one of them died, or was captured, then she'd probably feel like she failed them, right? If Ciara feels like she failed Gaara, well, then you've got your trigger right there."

"Yes…" That's what I was afraid of. "Shikamaru, thank you for your help today. You're dismissed, go home."

"Alright, but what are you going to do now?" He lingers by the door, waiting for my answer.

With a sigh, I take out a pen and a piece of paper. "I'm going to write to the Kazekage and inform him that he has a potentially unstable ninja teaching his medics who could self-destruct if she feels like she's incapable of protecting anyone, and needs to be handled carefully." Because what else am I supposed to tell him? That everything is going to be okay?

 _Then again, she's as attached to him as she is to Naruto. So while Naruto is out of the village, maybe Gaara can keep her calm._ It's a chance, a small one, but if it'll work, I'll take it.

"Alright, then I'm heading home now." Shikamaru closes the door behind him, leaving me at my desk, writing a letter that I never imagined I would ever write.


	13. Resonance

**Okay, so that was a heavy chapter last time. It's always hard to write ones like that because it requires me to visit a very dark place. But, this next chapter should be a fair bit lighter, because it's training time, and things are looking up (well, until there's an incident, of course, and we can blame Orochimaru for that). I'll be starting off with Gaara's P.O.V. this time, just to tie in with what happened at the end of last chapter.**

 **And Ciara goes back to normal, finally. She hasn't been normal since she set out on this crazy mission. Anger and fear make for a bad combination.**

* * *

Gaara's P.O.V.

It's very early in the afternoon, only just after noon, and just the same as yesterday, Ciara is out on the training grounds with the four that she's training personally. And it appears to be going quite well. Her spirits are much higher now, and it reassures me to see a smile on her face.

In similar fashion to yesterday, I kept an eye on her as she slept this morning, noting that this time, there appeared to be no nightmares, and that the same alarming condition that I witnessed yesterday did not occur today. Until I receive a response from the Hokage, all I can do is hope that her condition does not return to what it was yesterday.

There's a knock on my office door that calls my attention. "Come in."

Baki enters my office, holding a scroll in his hand. "Lord Gaara, a response has come from the Hokage. It has been marked as personal and top secret."

"Both?" That's rather unusual. But I suppose that simply means that it is for my eyes, and mine alone. Whatever information she has must be quite sensitive. "Very well." I reach out to take the scroll, and weigh the heavy document in my hand. "Thank you. You may go."After all, if this is for my eyes only, then I would rather know what the contents are before risking showing it to anyone else, even those that I trust. Especially when the subject in question is Ciara.

While Baki excuses himself from the room, I open the scroll and let my eyes traverse the surface, taking in each word. And with each sentence, my eyes narrow by just a hair. _So it's true…the confidence is to reassure herself. An over-compensation to combat her anxiety. And the rapid changes in her mood…potentially a consequence of her clan's special abilities._ That's not good. And from what I understand from Shikamaru, through Temari, is that Ciara is far from inbred. Which would indicate that this is not an accident of biology.

It takes me an entire fifteen minutes to read and process the information in the letter. What I gather is that there is nothing that can be done medically to help her, and that psychotherapy can only do so much, and ultimately would not solve the problem.

What does seem to be the answer to the issue is fairly straightforward. Contact, people, the ones that she is closest to. Here in the Sand, there is a significant lack of such people, apart from myself, Kankuro, and Temari. On the other hand, it seems that what can trigger a sudden bout of anger is being treated poorly, while neutral and positive treatment keep her mood high, no matter who it comes from. An extrovert by nature, then, by requirement of her very being. That might complicate things.

After reading the letter over twice more, I destroy it, leaving no trace of it behind. The last thing we need is for that kind of information to get out and be exploited. Detailing Ciara's periods of weakness could lead to others trying to use her for politics or for power. And that is not something that I will allow to happen.

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

Okay, on one hand, it's frustrating that they haven't made much progress since yesterday. I do like it when training and learning goes quickly, because then you can cover more material and hone your skills faster. And honestly, I get kind of bored just teaching the basic steps. But I know that everyone has to start somewhere.

On the other hand, I do know that they're actually progressing almost as quickly as I did. So there's no reason for me to fault their progress. In fact, despite my frustration, I'm quite pleased with the fact that they've, for the most part, been able to reduce the inflammation of their wounds, and even start to neutralize enough of the chakra to regenerate the surface cells. The wounds aren't deep, of course, but the outer layer of skin will need work each time. Less so as they get better at this.

I'm not sure whether to be surprised or not at the fact that out of the four of them, including one experienced medic, the one with the most progress is Masaru. His chakra is potent, to put it mildly. And of the four of them, he might actually be best suited to this type of healing.

That's when his chakra flares brightly, and what was once a reddened patch of skin is now free of discoloration. He pants slightly, staring at his arm, before a grin crosses his face. "I…I did it!"

I blink slowly, then stare at his arm, looking for way kind of trick. There's none. "You did. Good job. You've passed the first exercise."

He looks up at me, no anger in his eyes, just excitement, and it makes me feel good. "What's next?"

"Well, that was a very light injury, so the next step would be to try healing a more severe injury. But I'd rather not actually put your lives in danger, so we'll move on to the next lesson once the other three have managed to heal themselves." Though that still begs a few questions. "So, tell me, how did it feel when you finally figured out the trick?"

Masaru frowns for a second, and his three classmates turn their eyes to him, listening curiously. "Well, it felt like I was reaching into my arm and…pulling at the chakra…mixing it with mine, and then pushing it out into the air, like with bellows."

"Interesting…" I hadn't expected a description like that. "I suppose that's one way to do it."

That gets his attention in a bad way. "What, did I do it wrong?"

"No, no, nothing like that." Though that's not going to be easy to explain in any case. "I mean, in healing, it's really that whatever works…just go with it. If it works, there's a reason. I just do it differently because my chakra moves differently. I pull the destructive chakra into my own body, rather than pushing it out into the air. And just like with poisons, Suzaku neutralizes it for me. So it's all pulling, no pushing. If your chakra is strong enough, you can do it like I did, but I think that your way is safer for most medics."

Masaru stares at me, as though he wasn't expecting such high praise. "Uh…yeah. So push it out of the body instead of pulling on it, got it. But…" He tilts his head, before shaking it. "Nevermind."

That was a weird reaction, but if he doesn't want to talk about it, I won't make him. "Alright. If there's something wrong, don't be afraid to say so. Now…" I turn to the other three. "You've heard how Masaru felt it out when he healed himself. Take that, and try to apply it to yourselves."

"Yeah." Etsuko looks down at her own arm, taking a deep breath in, before staring unblinkingly at her arm as her hand glows brightly with chakra. Her face is screwed up in concentration, and long seconds tick by as nothing seems to happen. What I can tell, though, is that she's slowly increasing the concentration of her chakra, probably trying to hit the sweet spot for healing.

Then, slowly, at half the speed of Masaru's attempt, the redness of her arm starts to disappear, and I smile even brighter. "Well done, that's two down." Then I glance over at Ryokan, whose arm is lightening as well. "Make that three, and…" Only Katsuo is left with a wound on his arm. "You can do it, you just have to put your mind to it and keep focused. Move in deep, pull at the chakra, balance it with your own, and then push it out of your body."

He nods, gritting his teeth as he concentrates on pushing out the foreign chakra and healing the wound left behind. It's hard for him, and takes several more minutes for him to manage it, but eventually, the red marks fade and the slightly pained expression on his face disappears. "I…I got it!"

"Yeah, you did. And now that all of you have passed the first lesson in healing minor chakra wounds, it's time to-" A jolt of pain shoots through me, and a vicious heat races through my veins. _What's…what's happening to me?_

 _Chick, we must neutralize our chakra, quickly! It's your friend, Naruto, he's transforming again! The fox is taking over his-_

But his voice disappears, leaving me alone in my own head as my chakra flares. No, as his chakra flares. "Get…away…hurry…" I have no idea what's about to happen, but whatever it is, I doubt it's going to be good. "Now!"

The four of them back away as the fire in my veins grows hotter. It's Suzaku, his unbalanced chakra, which we've been using to conduct these first exercises. His chakra is burning me from the inside out, covering me in an orange haze of fiery chakra.

 _The fox is taking over Naruto? But how-_ Then it hits me, because the last time that my chakra flare out this way was over a year ago, when Jiraiya got the bright idea of loosening Naruto's seal to further his training into controlling the fox's chakra.

That was the day that I forced Suzaku's chakra to resonate with the fox's so that I could channel enough power to subdue him. It barely worked, and Jiraiya still has the scar to remind us of what happened that day. I mean, I managed to subdue him, barely, and it knocked me out for days afterward. But now…he's supposed to be back in the Leaf, or on some other kind of mission. He's far away from me, and I can't help him.

 _Am I going to be stuck like this until he calms down!?_ If that's the case, then this is going to get ugly. Unless someone can stop him, Naruto could rampage for hours before the fox's control will slip. And he would never forgive himself if he hurt someone like that. And he would feel even more guilty for not remembering it.

The red haze around my body solidifies, and the feathers burst from my head, poking through my tightly braided hair and bending in all the wrong ways. Wings burst from my back, followed by one, two, three, four long red, orange, and gold tail feathers. It's the manifestation of how much power I would need to stop him. But it's useless, we're too far apart. And because of the chakra imbalance right now, it's hurting me more than it's helping. I feel like all of my cells are crying out in pain. And unlike Naruto and the fox, Suzaku isn't trying to take over my mind, which means that I'm here to feel every bit of the pain firsthand. It feels like my body is tearing itself apart at the seams.

My tails wrap around me, my wings obscuring me completely from the view of the panicking students. Right now, it's all I can do to protect them from me. That's when my skin starts turning blood red, coated in almost toxic chakra, rather than the clear, fiery chakra that I'm used to experiencing.

I hold in my screams for five minutes, ten, fifteen, before finally calming after almost twenty minutes. And that can only mean one thing. Whoever is with Naruto right now managed to subdue him and push back the fox's power. And only when the threat has passed, can Suzaku pull back his power. By then, my skin feels burned and raw, and the tails slowly burn out of existence, leaving our wings to cradle me as they open slightly to reveal…sand?

Moments later, the sand begins to peel away, depositing the spherical container that I didn't even know I was in back on the ground. _Sand…? But- Oh no…_ There's only one person I know who uses sand like that.

Seafoam eyes are the first thing I see when the sand crumbles, and they're not happy eyes. "What happened?" Gaara's voice is clipped and hard, and all directed at me as he leans me back into his chest.

I press my hand to the ground, only to bite back a cry when I feel the skin that's been burned and rubbed raw, my blood soaking into the sand. "Naruto…he went to the fourth tail. I should have been there to stop him. Our chakra…it resonates so that I can stop him if I have to, if he goes out of control. But he's too far away, and the chakra is unbalanced. The healing nature is inactive, so it…" I hold up my bloody hand with scarlet skin on it. "Did this…"

His eyes focus on the ruined skin, before returning to my face, anger, pain, and sadness in his eyes. Which is weird, because he's usually not that expressive. I guess that's changed in the last couple of years. "And you never said anything!?" The growl of his voice grows in volume, drawing the attention of the not quite terrified medics-in-training.

Etsuko swallows nervously, before getting closer. "Lady Ciara? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. I just need a little time to heal…" Meaning the rest of the afternoon, but I digress. "The three of you can go home, we'll pick this up tomorrow."

"You are not teaching tomorrow." Gaara puts his foot down, and that irritates me. I'm not nearly as fragile as he thinks. Ironic, considering how paranoid I've been about his health lately. It's not fun when the shoe is on the other foot.

"I'll be fine, I'll be healed before bed." Probably before then, but still. "I can teach tomorrow. They need to get started on the next lesson."

"Well, why don't we just start that right now?" Masaru glares at me, though more…irritably than hostilely. "Lord Kazekage, would you leave the teacher's recovery to us? I want to start the next lesson now."

"The next…" Etsuko blinks in confusion, before looking at my skin. Then, an excited smile crosses her face. "Yes, we can do this. Come on Katsuo, you too."

"Uh, okay." He sits down to my left, while Etsuko sits to my right.

Masaru kneels in front of me, his eyes flicking to mine, before dropping back down to my hand. "How are you not screaming? Doesn't this hurt?" He pokes my hand, and I nearly curse the sadistic bastard out.

I clench my fist tightly, biting back a plethora of unflattering words. "Lots of experience with painful injuries. I've gotten used to suppressing pain."

"Right…" Masaru looks to his classmates, before holding his hands out over my shoulders, not quite touching my skin, but close enough that I can feel the air passing between us. "Hold still."

I nod tiredly. "Alright." I lean back into Gaara and watch as the three of them focus hard, trying to summon up the chakra concentrations necessary to stop the burning in my skin and the throbbing in my veins.

A bright glow envelops us as they push their chakra into me, working to balance and neutralize the destructive chakra unleashed on my body. By accident, of course, I don't blame my feathered friend I the slightest. It was just bad luck, and that's all. Someone pissed Naruto off at just the wrong moment.

Slowly, the throbbing and burning start to subside, but my skin remains burned and rubbed raw. And with the pain fading bit by bit, my wings and the feathers in my hair begin to recede, and the marks on my face are probably fading at the same rate as the explosion of colors in my eyes.

The scarlet starts to fade in patches as the skin starts to grow back, the burned parts falling off as the new skin replaces them. Etsuko's hands move to my face, renewing the skin there and relieving both the pain from the burns as well as the headache brought on by the feathers twisting all the wrong ways. It's enough to have me sighing in relief. Even Katsuo is contributing, despite not quite having the hang of the technique yet. His work on my hands is making it possible for me to infuse chakra of my own, and press my hands to my legs to speed up the healing process.

What really does surprise me is just how determinedly Masaru is pumping chakra into me, healing everything from my neck and shoulders, all the way down my back, chest, and stomach. It's remarkable, really, he has an amazing talent for healing, especially for this particular kind of healing.

The skin all over my body grows and darkens, my natural tan returning to mask any residual red patches. It's like it never happened. Well, except for the fact that I'm now utterly exhausted. That much chakra running rampant through my system is never good if I can't burn it off quickly.

It's fifteen more minutes before my skin is returned to its former state. Though it's still tender to the touch, and it'll probably be that way until morning, at least. But if there's one thing I can say about all of this, it's- "Lesson number two…cleared." And impromptu lesson, but in this case, it works.

Upon hearing that, all three of them fall back onto their butts, panting slightly. Katsuo looks like he's going to faint as he opens his mouth. "Okay, that was hard."

"But we did it. We just had to put our minds to it." Etsuko smiles a bit. "It's mind over matter, and we pulled it off."

Masaru sits there with a grin on his face. "Just goes to show what happens when you put a ton of effort in, right?"

"That's right." I smile softly at them. "All you needed was the motivation. And if training with Naruto has taught me anything, it's that challenges usually work best. No one improves when you go easy on them."

That gets their attention, and all three of them go quiet for a bit. Then, Masaru shifts uncomfortably. "Is that why you were tough on us and had us doing practical stuff right from the start?"

"Mmhm." I look into his dark eyes and feel rather proud of his progress. "Sorry about slamming you into the floor a couple days back. I probably scared the hell out of everyone too…"

"Nah, we've seen worse than that." Masaru shrugs. Then, Etsuko elbows him, and I can hear him curse under his breath as the two of them exchange significant looks. Though significant for what, I'm not entirely sure. "Okay, okay. Etsuko says that I was kinda asking to get smacked around. And I shouldn't have attacked you in the hallway, so-"

"You attacked her in the hallway!?" Etsuko's eyes flash angrily. "No wonder she put you on your ass so fast! Masaru, you need to stop getting angry over every person who gets too close to your idol! Especially one of his friends!" Then, she glances at the two of us. "Uh, Lord Kazekage, she's your friend, right?"

"Yes." There's not a drop of hesitation in his voice. And for a few minutes, I'd almost forgotten he was there. Well, not anymore. "And if the three of you will excuse us, I am taking her inside. She needs to rest."

"Ah! Gaara!" I try to squirm out of his surprisingly strong grip as he lifts me right off the ground. "I don't need you to carry me! I can walk just fine!"

"No." The curtness of his reply shocks me a little. "You may all report to the hospital tomorrow or remain at home to study. Your teacher will not be giving lessons tomorrow."

"You're hijacking my class!?" _Honestly, what has gotten into him?_ "I already told you, I heal quickly. I'll be fine by morning, I promise!"

Sand swirls around the two of us, and Gaara looks far from pleased. "No, you will take a day to rest before returning to teaching. Your students have progressed faster than expected, so they can afford to have a single day away from you."

"Gaara…" I look around as the sand swirls away, revealing Gaara's bedroom. "Gaara? What are we doing in your room?"

He places me carefully on the bed, slipping my boots off before pulling the covers over me. "You are going to rest, ad I will have my paperwork brought in here so that I can keep an eye on you."

I click my tongue and roll my eyes. "What, don't you trust me?"

"I do. With my life, but not with your own." Gaara's bright eyes bore into me, pinning me to the spot. "You do not have the best history of being careful to preserve your own life. You are reckless at the worst of times, and while it is admirable that you care more for others than you do yourself, it will be the death of you someday."

Honestly, he has no idea how right he is. If history shows anything, I really will go out protecting someone else. It's just…who I am.

He's quiet for a moment, before his eyes narrow. It's like he's looking right into my soul. "You know that I'm correct, then…"

My eyes widen at the observation, then I plaster a smile on my face. "What, are you getting lessons on reading minds from Ino? It's kind of freaky how you just did that."

"No, I know you. And I also know that Tsunade discovered a small piece of the nature of your instincts in the journals of the First Hokage. It explained several things, and reinforced what I already knew." He pushes me down to the mattress and adjust the pillow under my head. "Now, rest. You are in danger as long as you are not at full strength."

Well, I'm in danger even if I am at full strength, but that's besides the point. "Alright, I'll get some sleep. But you had better not overwork yourself while watching me. I'll know if you do." And there's really no reason for hi to keep an eye on me the whole time. I'll stay asleep until I'm recovered, whether that be an extra hour of sleep or an extra day. Waking up means that I'm good to go.

Gaara reaches for my braid, pulling out the tie and stroking my ruffled and slightly tangled hair until each part of the tightly woven braid comes away from my scalp, releasing the tension in a wave. Having feathers pop out of your head is not the greatest thing for keeping a tight braid in place. "Sleep, nothing will touch you tonight."

I smile, because honestly, Gaara can be very sweet and gentle when he wants to be, even if his voice is raspy and usually fairly monotone. He may not be the best at expressing his emotions, but he has other ways to show that he cares. I do kind of wonder what it would be like to get him mad, though. Or at least annoyed, that could be quite funny. He's always so stoic that it would be nice to see a greater variety of expressions on his face, and not just in his eyes.

Well, I suppose that the first mission can just be to get him to smile more. The second can be to get him nice and annoyed. Not too annoyed, though, we don't need any sand volcanoes erupting in the middle of the village. _Hm...sand volcanoes._ _Maybe I can ask Kankuro for tips on annoying Gaara…_

* * *

Gaara's P.O.V.

It's something of a relief when her eyes finally close. Though I would be lying if I said that making sure that she rests is the only reason that I've elected to stay here with her. If possible, I would also like to prevent her from having another nightmare.

According to what the Hokage wrote in that letter, it would seem that the trigger to watch out for is whatever is going on in her nightmares. Now, if only I could pry out of her what happens in those nightmares, I might make swifter progress. Getting to the root of the problem is the only way to solve it.

Regardless, I sit by her side as Kankuro quietly comes in with a stack of paperwork for me to do. After all, I still have work to finish, and I am perfectly capable of multitasking. Watching over a sleeping girl leaves more than enough time to do several stacks of work. And she'll likely be asleep until at least the morning. Though I would not put it past her to sleep in until past noon.

And luckily, Kankuro seems to have heard the request I made before moving outside to contain Ciara's little accident. He found me a book, a single book, concerning the myths and legends from ancient times. And it's in here that I hope to find something, anything concerning these dragons that the Hokage described in her letter.

The dragons of the Land of Fire, who made their home long ago, high on the peak of Mount Tenryuu, the mountain that looms over the southern edge of the Leaf Village.


	14. Steps Forward and Looking Back

**Alright, so ramping back up into the fun stuff. Ciara's trainees are already working on their next lesson, and it's pretty interesting, if I do say so myself. Also, timeskip, because I can't have her stick around in the Sand forever. So she'll be heading home next chapter.**

 **And I'm bringing in part of one of the filler arcs, just because it works, and it'll give her something to come home to. And there's a reason for picking out and altering the passage from the filler are the way I did. So humor me and enjoy the integration of some of the better, and by "come home to" I mean chaos, chaos everywhere. Though that should be a given, really.**

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

Lately, I feel like all I do is sleep in, go to the hospital to supervise and give tips to the trainees in the various disciplines, head out to train with the chakra group at noon, go back to the hospital for a couple of hours, before falling asleep in Gaara's room, with him watching over me like a mother hen.

Jeez, if this is how Gaara felt when I was taking his vitals four times a day, I can understand why he would get back at me for it like this. It's the most annoying thing I've ever had to deal with in my life. At least I'm not the one who died and came back from the dead, though. So I think that the case leans more towards me, to be fair.

On a more important note, it's noon, which means that I'm in for the…sixteenth session with the trainees? Seventeenth? Either way, we're getting close to the end of my month here, and I'm really proud of them, they've improved by leaps and bounds, and they won't need me around here much longer.

And they're not the only ones. Results from the different groups are coming in, and there are vast improvements across the board. Enough that if they pass down the regimens that we've developed these past few weeks, then the Sand Village should never be short talented medics. Tsunade was even kind enough to send along some advanced textbooks on poisons and antidotes. Hopefully, next time, they won't need us to deal with a difficult poison.

So, I step into Gaara's office just a few minutes before it's time for me to meet my trainees, a pile of paper in my hands. "I've got the latest reports from the group leaders. And I think that you'll like the results. The quality of treatment in the hospital has tripled, and there's some solid training practices being developed. Some of them are pretty creative too."

"I see, good." He takes the papers from me, his eyes skimming over them as he picks out the highlights of the first report. Then, he looks at me with a rare smile. "It's good to have you here. You re a great help."

I snort with amusement. "You mean after I got my best trainee to stop hating me?" It was a rough road, but after the incident, Masaru started being civil, and sometimes even friendly with me. And thankfully, it's only gotten better since then. I'm actually enjoying our training sessions now.

"Yes, that certainly would help." I could swear that his eyes are glittering with amusement. Then again, that might just be the light. "Speaking of your trainees…"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll see you later." I walk past him and to his office window, out of which I can see my trainees moving onto the training field. "Remember to eat, and don't work yourself too hard." And with that, I launch myself out the window, flipping through the air and landing perfectly in the middle of the training field.

My trainees don't even flinch. This isn't the first time I've done that. Masaru smirks at me. "So, are we starting with the heavy stuff right off the bat?"

"That's right!" I crack my knuckles and smirk right back. "So, are you up first today?"

"Of course." Masaru's chakra flares, telling me that he's ready to get started at any moment. "Today, I'm going to pass five minutes."

"You think so?" I taunt him just a little. Best to get him riled up before we start, it gets better results out of him. "You just barely got four minutes yesterday, five might be pushing it."

"Nah, I can do this." That determination of his is good, and it's going to serve him well. He holds up his hands challengingly. "Come on, the sooner we start, the sooner I prove to you that I can do this."

"Alright, if you think you can handle it." I hold up my hands in a similar fashion and slide my fingers through his, locking them together, just as I've done with all four of them for the past couple of weeks.

It's a technique that I kind of developed on the fly after they passed the second lesson so quickly. I figured that if they were going to improve their ability to heal wounds, then it should stand to reason that they should be able to fight the chakra in a more direct confrontation, if only for a little while. Which is why Suzaku's chakra pours out of me, racing down my arms and towards Masaru, who slams his own chakra against the incoming flood, fighting it as it travels up his own arms, pushing it back into my body.

For safety purposes, though, Suzaku lowered the concentration of chakra for these exercises. Not that we need it to be particularly destructive now, they already know how to deal with that. Now, it's just about concentration, endurance, and training to heal large amounts of damage by dealing with an equally large amount of chakra.

My efforts are fairy minimal as the seconds tick by, but Masaru is putting up one hell of a fight against me. His chakra is pretty potent. In fact, it's a little too potent. "Hm…tell me, do you have a kekkai genkai at all?"

The question distracts him a bit, but not enough for him to lose focus on the task at hand. "No, why do you ask?"

"Hm, strange. You've got pretty powerful chakra for a normal shinobi. I guess that just means that you've got a lot of untapped potential that's all your own." Now, I'm actually kind of curious to see just how much power is hidden behind the attitude.

The observation seems to please him, because he smirks and his chakra starts to flood out against mine, actually pushing its way into my fingertips. "Then let's find out how much."

Now that sounds like a good idea. "Alright." I push back against his flood of chakra, balancing us out, and increasing the amount and focus incrementally. And every step of the way, he matches the output.

Of course,the output isn't nearly a significant amount of Suzaku's strength. Still, if I were normal, this would be a pretty significant amount, the kind used in intense battle. Which, I suppose, would be a good metaphor for what we're doing. We may not be trading blows, but our chakra is definitely doing battle. And it's rather exhilarating.

It also makes me miss training with Naruto. He's by far one of the best partners for burning off energy with. Oh, and Neji too. Which reminds me that when I get back to the Leaf, I need to drag Neji out for some sparring. It's been way too long since the last time that we sparred, and I've learned more than a few tricks in the last couple of years. I'm pretty sure that I could pose a real challenge to him now, even without ninjutsu. And learning some of those Gentle Fist forms of his could prove very useful.

Masaru starts to falter at about the five minute mark, lasting much longer than any of our previous sessions. While strained, the smirk is still firmly in place. "See, I told you I'd last longer this time."

"So you have…" But I can see him faltering now, and frankly, he's probably never going to come up against this type of assault anyway, so there's no need to push him further. With this, he's already proven that he'll be able to tend to most moderate to severe injuries. There's nothing more to teach him. Now, he has to master this power on his own. "Alright, consider this to be your graduation exam for this part of your training. You pass." I pull back my chakra entirely and unlock our clasped hands, grinning. "Congratulations."

He pants slightly as his chakra starts to recede. But he has a wildly happy expression on his face. "Awesome…"

I turn to the other trainees and hold out my hands. "Who's next?"

* * *

Naruto's P.O.V.

"Sora will be rounding out Team Kakashi while Sai is in recovery. Because of that, I'd like to practice some new formations to get us all in sync." I had a feeling that I wouldn't like the words coming out of Captain Yamato's mouth. He's got that look whenever he's about to tell us something I don't like. Even if he thinks it's totally reasonable.

 _This is so annoying, I'm supposed to be training my wind style, not getting dragged out into the middle of nowhere by Captain Yamato. And definitely not with Sora in tow._ "Man, come on, we can skip that. Let's just get back to my wind chakra training."

"Heh, well, what do you know about that? The reject has a point for once." _Damn it, this guy gets on my nerves. Why can't Sora ever learn to keep his trap shut?_

"You're a laugh a minute, you know that?" I glare at him for a second, before a detail from our last battle occurs to me. "Oh, that's right. Captain Yamato, I almost forgot something. I wanted to ask you a couple of questions about the manipulation of chakra nature."

Captain Yamato scratches his head, like he really doesn't want to answer me. But no way, I'm definitely getting answers out of him. "Well…alright, but then I want you focused on the rest of our training."

I feel like sighing, but that's not going to help right now. "Yeah, okay, you got it." _Jeez…I should be doing actual training, not dumb formations._

"Well, shoot. What do you want to know?" Finally, now we're getting somewhere.

"You said before that you create the wood style by combining the earth and water styles together, right?" I mean, that's what he's been doing ever since he took over our team from Kakashi-Sensei, so that's pretty obvious, right?

"Yes, that's correct. Earth and water are the two properties of chakra nature that I have mastery of." He confirms it, but doesn't seem to know where I'm going with this. Great…

"Kakashi-Sensei's talked about this a lot in training. He said, when you're a jounin, you can learn more of them. Will I eventually pick up water style or something too?" It would be really handy to be able to do combination attacks like Ciara can. _Huh…I wonder if she can make any extra chakra natures…like ice or wood._

"I see." Captain Yamato crosses his arms and frowns. "Hard to say, really. You're either born with it, or you're not. Each of us has an affinity for different chakra. Though I guess only time will tell if you have an affinity for water style chakra."

Well, that's disappointing. "So, I guess no matter how hard I try then, I can't learn something that isn't there to begin with.

"Anyway, Naruto, your fundamental attribute is wind. Even if you were to show signs of others, they would be much weaker. To cultivate a second or third property, jounin train themselves to use that weaker chakra." _Damn it, that sounds really hard._

But…I guess that makes sense. "Then that means it's gotta be really rare for somebody to obtain all five, then, right?

"Not exactly. No shinobi has ever managed to master all five of them. It's never happened, at least not to my knowledge, anyway. The Third Hokage was as close as it was possible to be to a master of all five basic chakra natures, and even he said that he still had things to learn before he could really call himself a master." Yamato shakes his head. "Though he was certainly proficient enough in all of them that many would consider him to have mastered all five. He was called "The Professor" after all."

My thoughts travel back to that weird chick with the long red hair who totally freaked when I accidentally cut off a few pieces of it. _Sheesh, women and their hair. But then…how could she do that. Wait…_ "But Captain Yamato. Ciara can use all five, easy! What's with that? She could use three before she made chunin, and could use all five before we got back to the village."

Captain Yamato frowns. "That shouldn't be possible…what did you say her name was?"

"Ciara Shiryugu. She's a friend of ours who goes on missions with us sometimes." Sakura frowns like she's confused, and I can't blame her, I'm confused too.

The captain looks just as confused. "Well, I can't speak to that, since there's a lot about her that I just don't know. But it sounds to me like there's something else at work there."

"You're right about that." There's laughter in the trees, and I look up to see Asuma-Sensei. "To be fair, you can't judge my niece by the standards of normal shinobi. She's…a special case. Thats a clan trait that would pop up in the main house from time to time. Kekkai genkai have a habit of breaking the rules that the rest of us play by."

"Ah, yes, that makes sense." Captain Yamato coughs. "Well, my earlier explanation is barring those with kekkai genkai that allow affinities for the five basic chakra natures. So you friend is a unique case. Though she's still young, I'm guessing, so I doubt she has total mastery over all five natures at her age. Give it a few decades, maybe. Master over one element is tough enough, mastery over all five is a pretty tall order. Now, is that all the questions you had? Because we have a lot of formations to get to."

Asuma-Sensei starts laughing again. "It's not like they're a permanent team. Why bother drillin' em? Seems kinda pointless. I mean, for starters, Naruto doesn't really think before he acts." Well ouch, that hurts. "And Sora's cut from the same cloth."

"Don't lump me in with him!" Sora points at me as though I'm some kind of freak on display.

"What is it with you!?" I grit my teeth, glare, and put up my fists, just in case he wants to get into another brawl like the one yesterday.

"Both of em are heavy hitters who like diving into the fray. Just put em out front and let em do their thing. You and Sakura just back em up as best you can." Well, he might have insulted us, but he's got a point about how we fight. I guess. Still, Sora pisses me off with his damn attitude. Here I am, trying to be nice to him whenever I get the chance, and he just throws it back in my face!

The captain sags a bit. "Well, I don't disagree with you, but…"

"Backing these two up should be a lot of fun…" Sakura rolls her eyes, and that hurts, seriously, it hurts.

Asuma-Sensei jumps down from the tree to join us. "Seriously, they're not gonna to pick up new formations overnight. Give em a little time to find a rhythm. They'll be comrades before you know it.

Our team leader sighs, like he's finally giving up. "Which means that for now…"

"Those formations will just have to wait." Asuma-Sensei grins, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

Captain Yamato sighs. "Asuma is right. So, for the time being,you can all keep training individually. Okay?"

"Alright! So I guess this means we can pick up right where we left off with my training, right!? Can we? How bout it, Captain?" This means that I can keep training my wind nature, and I'll get to train with Ciara when she gets back! _Hey, maybe I can ask her for tips too! She's got awesome control of her wind chakra!_

"Oh, uh, well, we'd need Kakashi here for that." That just sounds like an excuse to me. "But hey! Maybe Asuma here could help you! You're on standby right now, aren't you, Sensei? I'm sure he could teach you a thing or two. After all, he has the same wind style chakra that you two do."

"Alright!" _Now I'll have something to show Ciara when she comes home in a week!_

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

My nose twitches, and I sneeze loudly right in the middle of Gaara's office, here to give my evening report on the progress in the chakra-training of my trainees and the advances in the training of the other groups inside the hospital.

Gaara looks up at me, his brow furrowing. "Are you alright?"

I sniffle a bit, rubbing my nose gingerly. "Yeah, I'm fine. I guess someone's talking about me or something."

"I see." He looks back down at the report, before placing it down on his desk. "You leave in three days…"

"Yeah, I'll be heading home as fast as I can." I smirk slightly. "After all, who knows what kind of trouble they're all getting into without me. Someone's gotta protect them."

He nods slowly, his eyes now locked on me. "Ciara…if you ever wish to visit, there will be a room waiting for you here whenever you need it."

I blink, then smile at the gesture. "Then I guess that one of these days, I'll have to take you up on that. It's not good to stay cooped up in one place for too long, after all."

"Yes." He watches me, and I could swear that I see a hint of uncertainty in his eyes.

So, I make this a bit easier for him. "I'll miss you Gaara. But I promise, the next time you see me, I'll be a lot stronger."

A smile curls his lips just enough to be noticeable. "I'm sure you will be." It's a gentle vote of confidence, but one that I'm more than willing to take.

Still, just to make him feel better, I sit myself down on his desk. "Anyway, the trainees have learned everything I can teach them. Now, it's all about experience. And if any real issues crop up, then I can always look in my family library for something that might help and send the texts over for the medics to look at."

"That would be appreciated." He smiles softly, and my insides do a tango in delight. It was hard to get him to smile, but he does it more often when it's just us in his office. _I guess he's sticking to his Kage face most of the time. A shame, he's got a nice smile. He should use it more often._

I raise my hand to ruffle the crimson hair, before pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sleep well." Gaara's hand brushes mine as I remove it from his head and slip off his desk.

As I walk out of his office, I sigh. It's so different here now. At least, compared to how it was when I first arrived here. There were a lot of suspicious looks, but those have died down for the most part.

On the other hand, now, I get either looks of awe, or looks of hostility. And frankly, I prefer the hostile looks to the suspicious ones. Because at least when the looks are hostile, I can just be defensive. Suspicious looks are much harder to deal with, because I have no clue exactly what they're expecting me to do. Whatever it is, it's probably not good.

Returning to my room, I change into a light silk nightgown, since the desert air is hot and dry, and I really can't stand sleeping in heavy pajamas. Luckily, Temari lent me enough of her stuff to tide me over until I head home. And the staff here are very helpful in having my clothes cleaned for me every time I take them off. They're prompt and efficient, to put it mildly.

The purple nightgown flutters around me as I walk over to the window to watch the setting sun. The view is nice, though I do prefer the view from on top of my mountain. There, the red, orange, and gold of the sun contrasts against the green of the trees and the sparkling blue of the lake. I can see why my ancestors would choose to settle there. It's a beautiful and almost…mystical place.

This place has its own charms, but I'm more interested in the sky as the light slowly dims and the stars begin to shine through the growing darkness. I love the stars. I love the moon. And I love the look of the sun at sunrise, sunset, and high noon. The play of light on the world is enchanting and beautiful. But the stars has a special quality to them, even amongst those more prominent displays of light. The stars are as bright and ethereal as the ancestors that I heard about as a child.

 _I wonder if we really do become stars when we die…_ Of course, I don't know if that's true or a myth, or if it would happen while I'm still mostly human. There's just so much I don't know, and so much that I don't think I'll ever know.

Still, it's nice to watch the stars until I'm ready to go to sleep. And as the moon rises into the sky, its color amongst the twinkling stars reminds me of a few more precious people in my life.

With a sigh, I hold my hand out the window and towards the lights hanging above me. "Kiyoshi…are you watching me now? Is Shisui with you?" It's a bit of a romantic notion, but I really hope that somewhere, the two of them can see me. And I can only hope that they're proud of me. "It's…Itachi and Sasuke. I'm not totally sure what's going on with them, but please…if you're watching over me, can you watch over them as well? I don't want anything to happen to them just because they insist on being dumb and doing things the hard way. Well…whatever they're actually doing, I mean."

Because dammit, those two seem to have entirely different agendas, and I haven't quite figured them out yet beyond Itachi helping, and yet not helping the Akatsuki, and Sasuke going off to Orochimaru for power to kill Itachi for something that I can't imagine my uncle doing in the first place.

I say another prayer for those two, to my ancestors, wherever their souls may be. Because honestly, I just want to see them again. Alive. And if that means praying to the dead and gone, and going along with whatever crazy schemes Naruto comes up with, then that's what I'll do.

After all, they're family. And a dragon hoards their family like a mountain of gold and jewels.


	15. Back From the Sand

**Sorry for being gone so long. I got caught up in Fairy Tail and a couple of collaborative pieces with my friend SilverKitsune2017. If the inspiration doesn't come, it just doesn't come, and trying to force it would produce really bad writing. Take this long chapter and know that I'm working on the next one. It's probably going to start off sad.**

 **Okay, so for those of you who might not like the Guardian Shinobi Twelve arc, don't worry, I'm not spending much time on it. Ciara arrives basically in the middle of the fighting, making a grand entrance when she does. So no worming my way through a filler arc that is honestly pretty boring until the village gets attacked. On the other hand, there's some stuff here that I can work with that I really want to write, hence why I'm getting into it. So my apologies to anyone who doesn't like the arc, but it's gonna be short, and the small details are more important than the overarching plot.**

 **Oh, and a chunk of the chapter will be done from Shikamaru's P.O.V.**

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

"So, this is goodbye." I smile at Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro, who have seen fit to see me to the village gates. Even Masaru and Etsuko are here. And I'm pretty sure that as soon as these two stop with their cold war, they'll see that the two of them should just work out their tensions elsewhere.

Kankuro grins behind the war paint. "Yeah, it's been good to have you here. The hospital really needed the help. And thanks for, you know, helping with Gaara."

"You're welcome, but I would have helped Gaara anyway. Especially after everything we went through to get him back." Yeah, that was a nightmare that I really hope I don't have to revisit any time soon.

"Are you sure that you'll be alright getting back to the Leaf on your own? We could send an escort with you, at least to the border." The look on Temari's face reminds me of when she crashed the party when Gaara came back to life. She's worried.

Well, it's nice to have someone worried about me, but I'm not a kid who needs looking after anymore. "It's alright, I'll be fine. I was planning on flying most of the way back, anyway. And I doubt that I'm going to be attacked in the sky." Not unless the Akatsuki have another member who can fly, and in that case, I'll just shove a fireball down their throat.

"Ciara…" Gaara steps closer to me, holding up his hands slightly.

The gesture gets across easily. And I smile as I step into his arms and wrap my own around his neck. "I'll send you a letter once I'm back home. You should get it tomorrow."

His arms wrap around my back and his voice is a whisper like a breeze across the desert. "Stay safe on your way home."

"I will, I promise." I'm not planning on letting anyone get the jump on me. And by flying, I should be able to make it home by sundown.

Gaara seems reluctant to release me, but lets his hands fall away anyway. "Tell Naruto hello for me."

"Of course." I smirk, since that should be a given, really. Then, I notice that Masaru is looking at us with an eyebrow raised. "What is it?"

He rolls his eyes and looks away pointedly. "It's weird to see you all touchy-feely with our Kazekage."

"Oh…so that's it." Well, I guess that makes sense. He's still not used to it. "I suggest that you try to wrap your head around it, since me and Naruto are both very touchy-feely people. Everyone else eventually gets used to it." At this point, I doubt that even Neji would protest if I gave him a hug.

 _Hm…I should try that theory out when I get back._

Gaara takes one step back, his eyes still fixed on me. He probably doesn't want to leave until I'm well out of sight. I guess the paranoia about each other's safety really does go two ways. And judging by the way that the sand is wrapping gently around my ankles, I don't think he actually wants me to leave at all.

Carefully pulling my feet from the sand, I back away from him, smiling the whole way. "Don't worry, I'm sure that we'll see each other again as soon as the next crisis pops up. Just make sure that the Sand Village stays standing until then. Me and Naruto will do our best to knock off a few Akatsuki in the meantime."

"Just be safe…" Gaara chides me gently. Then, he looks upwards. "The sky calls…"

"Yeah…it does." I smile and close my eyes as I turn away from all of them, chakra pounding quickly through my body as Suzaku lends me his power. The markings itch a little as they appear on my face, and my eyes heat up for a moment as they change color. My hair tumbles in the breeze as the feathers decorate my head. And lastly, my wings, with their now much larger wingspan grow in a fiery haze from my back. Looking back over my shoulder, I smile at the four of them. "See you later." They flutter, preparing to lift me off the ground. Then, I break into a run and let the wind catch in my wings as they beat and lift me into the air.

I gain altitude gradually, circling around over the gates of the village, my eyes on Gaara as I soar up several hundred feet. And when he becomes no more than a tiny reddish dot against the desert sand, I turn my gaze to the east, directly towards the Leaf.

My wings flap powerfully as I race through the sky. Up here, I feel free, calm, happy. I'm not sure if its the dragon buried somewhere deep inside me, or if it's Suzaku's natural preference bleeding into my preference of environment. Either way, I love it up here.

* * *

While it's the middle of the morning when I leave, the sun is lowering past the horizon when the Leaf finally comes into sight. But…there's something wrong. There's a dark haze around the village, and I don't like it.

 _Great…I probably should have seen this coming._ Somehow, the people I care about always seem to get themselves into a mess of trouble when I'm not around.

Two hundred feet above the village, I stop and take a look around. There are huge structures around the village, and there's a barrier running between them. It's nothing like I've ever seen before.

Then I see through it, and my blood starts to boil. Corpses, hundreds of them. They're launching an assault on the main gate. And I'm damn sure that we have more shinobi in the village than I can see fighting. _Just how many have already… I grit my teeth and reach deep inside me. Suzaku, can we break the barrier? Or at least break through it?_

 _…I cannot break the entire barrier with the seal still in place, however, piercing a hole in it just long enough to pass through is possible. After that, it is possible that it may collapse in on itself, but there is no guarantee._

Well, either way, the whole point is just to get in there. _Okay, then let's do it. And I'm going to make some clones when I get down there. Do you think that you can stretch your chakra that far?_

 _Yes. I believe so, however, you will not be able to summon the tails, only my wings to carry them. The seal is…frustrating at times. It will allow no more power than that to pass its confines._

 _Alright, that's good enough!_ It's something that we'll have to address later. In any case, I let the chakra well up for an intense burst of power. Because there's no way that I'm going to leave them all down there without protection. _Now!_

* * *

Shikamaru's P.O.V.

It's total chaos when I reach the main gate of the village. I knew that there were reanimated shinobi there, but a horse of this number is supposed to be something only heard of in horror stories.

Luckily, I find Ino tending to the wounded. "So, what's the situation, Ino?"

"Shikamaru!" Relief is painted all over her face. Which means that they were probably waiting for me, if I know my teammate right. "It's crazy out here. There's just so many reanimated shinobi, we can't keep up with them. We've got too many casualties, and their army is endless. We need to even the odds and fast, otherwise we're…"

There's no need to say any more. And damn it, we're not at full strength now, not even close. There should be five times this many shinobi in this area. _Damn it…okay, Shikamaru, think. Chouji, Kiba, Ino, and Lee are all here. We're all mid-range and close combat fighters._ And of all times, it's definitely now that we need a long range fighter. Or at least someone who can use large-scale ninjutsu that affects a wide area.

 _Well, no point in whining about any of it now._ I stride towards the battle. "Come on, Ino, let's go."

"Right." She finishes treating the ninja in her arms before getting up to follow me.

"Come on, we can't give up now. We have to do our job so that the other units can do theirs!" Chouji's voice rings across the battlefield. Well, it's not like he was ever one to be quiet unless he was eating.

"That's the spirit, Chouji." And boy does he look happy to see me. I just wish that I came bearing good news. "This is a diversion, their real objective is elsewhere. That's why we need to wrap things up here as quickly as we can. Then, we'll link up with the other units."

"Yeah, yeah, we know that." Looks like Genma is here too. "So why don't you quit standing there, yapping, and come up with a strategy already?"

Man this guy irritates me. "You can be a real drag, you know?" Still, I should probably come up with a plan fast So with that in mind… "Chouji, you still have some chakra left, right?"

"Sure, plenty. I'm ready to go any time." That's exactly what I was hoping to hear. And from the looks of it, everyone else is good to go as well.

Alright, now for the plan. "I want Chouji up first to sweep away as many of the dead as possible. Run them over. Once he clears the way, Lee moves in to thin out the herd. Kiba, I want you ready to clean up after Lee. Got it!?" What I wouldn't give to have Naruto and his shadow clone army here right about now…that would definitely even out the odds.

"Right!" The three of them spring into action, easily moving right back into the middle of the fray.

In the middle of the initial attacks, my whole plan goes to hell. The dome above us shatters right above the battle, cracks spreading out along the barrier. And from it falls a figure not shaped like a human. And that's before it splits into five. _What the hell is that!?_

A small shadow falls down towards us, heading straight for Ino. It's too small to be a person, and not shaped like a weapon. "Ino, get down!"

"What!?" She looks up, frowning, before her eyes widen. "Wait, is that-" The object races towards us, and Ino snatches it out of the air, revealing a…pack?

Gusts of wind rise up all around us, tossing Chouji, Lee, Kiba,and Akamaru back towards me and Ino, and forcing all of our other forces to take cover. The five figures in the air come closer, before stopping to hover in mid-air. That's when everything in front of us is drenched in a flood of red and gold fire from multiple directions. _No…not a flood…a river?_

 _But…she's not supposed to be back for-_

"Wow, I go to the Sand for a month, and everything goes to hell here? You guys really need to stop getting in so much trouble when I'm not around." That's definitely a voice I recognize, and four of the figures vanish in front of us, while the last one drifts back to the ground, carried down by two gigantic fiery wings. It's a form I could hardly call human, but honestly, I'm just glad she's here.

As she touches down, I laugh sheepishly. "Well, you've got great timing, I'll give you that."

"Shikamaru? Who's that?" Ino peeks around me at the form half cloaked in darkness. And it's actually kind of funny that she doesn't recognize the girl standing there. To be fair, I barely recognize her myself.

Still…it's a perfect opportunity to lift the mood a little. "I don't know whether to say that you're early or late, but your timing is pretty good, princess."

I could swear that she growls at me, it's almost scary. "I knew that you were the one who told Temari that! Damn it, Shikamaru, because of you, I have half the Sand Village calling me Lady." Her fingers twitch, and flames dance along her wings, and up her hair, somehow without burning it to a crisp. What it does, though, is illuminate her face.

Ciara is back from the Land of Wind.

Then, she disappears from in front of us, and the sky is filled with wind and lightning. It's pretty spectacular, to say the least. Tiny bolts of white lightning raining down on the corpses, followed by a tornado of sharp wind blades racing out in every direction, the whirlwind's epicenter right in the middle of the crowd of corpses. They don't stand a chance as she mows them down by the dozen with each flick of her wrist.

Chouji stumbles over, his eyes wide as he watches the chaotic dance. "Is that really Ciara?"

"No way…" Ino doesn't believe it, but that doesn't make it any less true.

"Yeah." I smirk tiredly. "Here just when we needed her. She wasn't supposed to be back for a couple of days, but…" I eye the massive wings on her back. "I guess she just couldn't wait to see us."

"No kidding." Kiba limps over with Akamaru in tow. And the dog is suspiciously quiet. "Akamaru said that he'd never felt anything like this before. And I gotta say, I don't remember her being this strong the last time we saw her fight this way."

He must mean two and a half years ago, when Gaara's student got kidnapped and we went in to back them up. That's the last time I remember her looking like this. "Yeah, no kidding."

"Earth Style: Meteor Impact!" There's an earth-shattering explosion of chakra right in the middle of the huge mass of dirt and rock, and most of it is flattened in an instant. And there's really no need to wonder where that ninjutsu came from. None of the other ninja here can get close to the fighting. It's just way too dangerous.

"Now that is the Power of Youth!" Lee's got a point, I guess. I mean, she is the youngest of our class. Though I get the feeling that this is a lot more than just youth.

Above us, the barrier cracks a bit more, before shattering entirely and dissolving. Though it's a bit too long after she came crashing in to attribute it to her. Not only that, but there are no longer any zombies crawling out of the ground. "Wha-what the hell's going on?"

"It looks like someone else took down the ones who put up the barrier and cast the reanimation ninjutsu." Ciara rises to her feet, before flipping through the air and landing deftly next to me, her wings fluttering, and fiery eyes examining the scene. "And since Naruto isn't here wreaking havoc, I'm going to guess that he got himself caught up in a battle with one of the bad guys, again." Which is pretty typical, I guess. There'd be clones everywhere, otherwise.

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

"This ain't over. There's a much bigger jutsu coming." I glance at Shikamaru, understanding his point, but still fuzzy on the details. "Konohamaru said they have a way to toast the whole village."

Great…I'm gone for just a month, and all of this happens. "Okay, I guess I'll ask to be briefed on the situation later."

"Shikamaru!" Genma's voice calls out, and we all turn to look at him. "We have to assume the village is still in jeopardy. So for the moment, we should treat the reanimation jutsu ending as a trick, they want us to let our guard down

"Alright, got it. That means we need to locate either Sakura and Yamato, or the enemies themselves." Our resident genius looks like his brain is already going over a hundred potential scenarios every second. It's reassuring to see that even a battle like this hasn't dampened his spirits much.

"That's correct. Now go put together a team, I want you to go investigate the village." Genma looks absolutely wiped, though I suppose that's only to be expected with the hell that they all just went through.

Shikamaru nods. "Yeah, sure thing."

"Well, there's no need to put much effort into it." I look around at Lee, Chouji, Ino, Kiba and Akamaru. "If the seven of us go, then all we need to do is find Naruto."

"Find Naruto?" You know, after everything that's happened, I thought that Chouji would know better. "How's finding Naruto going to help?"

"Simple." I hold up a finger and my wings fold up and tuck themselves behind me. "Naruto logic. If there is a bad guy somewhere nearby, then either Naruto will find them, or they'll find him, he's a magnet for trouble. So if we find Naruto, we find our enemy."

They all just stare at me, and Kiba shrugs. "Well, you've got a point there. Naruto gets into way more trouble than is healthy."

"Alright, then let's go and track down that idiot!" I reach out, searching for Naruto's chakra. And after several long seconds, I home in on it. "Found him!"

"Okay, move out!" Shikamaru gestures to the others, and we take off through the village streets, following the moving target that is Naruto.

As we run, the lightning crackling overhead starts to dissipate. And that strikes me as strange. "Hey, Shikamaru, I think that another of the enemies just got taken out. The lightning in the sky is gone."

He looks up and breathes an audible sigh of relief. "Looks like it. But keep your guard up anyway, there's no way of knowing if it's true, or just a ploy."

"I'm pretty sure that whatever was going to burn us all to a crisp has been put out of commission, but…" I've got a bad feeling in my gut. "I think the worst is still ahead of us." Because from the direction of Naruto's chakra is an alarming concentration of the fox's chakra. "We have to move, now!" My steps speed up, and I races across the rooftops as lightly as a feather and as quickly as the wind in a hurricane.

"What is that!?" Ino's shriek hurt my ears, but the echoes of the question drive me just a little batty.

That's when the screams reach my ears, tickling the feathers with vibrations. "It's not good." I grit my teeth. "It's really not good."

Kiba's nose starts twitching, and a low growl emanates from Akamaru. "Well, looks like you were right on the money. Naruto's over there, along with Asuma-Sensei, and Sakura. Sora too. And there's a trace of another scent, someone not from the village."

"The enemy?" Well, I think Shikamaru just jinxed us.

"Who's Sora?" I feel like that question needs to be answered first, because I need to know who to pummel and who not to pummel.

"A kid from the Fire Temple. He's replacing Sai on Team Kakashi while Sai is in the hospital." Shikamaru glances at me. "Oh, and Sai is the one that got picked to round out Team Kakashi since Sasuke left an open spot."

The way he says that makes me wince. As if I wasn't already painfully aware of Sasuke's absence. "Okay, so I'm guessing Sora is around our age. I'll probably know him when I see him." He's likely wearing some kind of uniform, if he's from a temple. That should stick out.

Then, a huge explosion of energy goes off a couple of kilometers ahead. "What in the world was that!?" It's understandable that Lee would have no idea what's going on. And frankly, I wish I knew more as well.

But it can't be helped. "I have a theory…and if I'm right, then you guys can secure the perimeter, but you'll have to stay out of the battle. Provide support and backup when appropriate, but do not get in the line of fire, no matter what!"

"What's going on out there!?" Kiba growls at me, his canines flashing.

"…A demon's chakra on a rampage." That's the only way to describe it from this distance. "Now come on, we need to-" Then, the battle comes into view, right in the middle of a huge crater. And right in the middle is a boy cloaked in the fox's chakra, dressed in a priest's uniform. "I'm…guessing that's Sora."

Kiba sniffs the air, and nods, his eyes wide with fear. "Yeah…that's Sora."

"Got it." Well, it looks like things are worse than I thought. Not only do we have an enemy to deal with, but it looks like we have some kind of pseudo-jinchuuriki on our hands. And he's not a happy camper. "Kiba and Lee, you two hang back. You're close combat fighters, and that's more likely going to get you killed out there, than help."

"Damn it." Shikamaru puts his hands together, extending his shadow to capture the one called Sora. "Shadow Possession Jutsu, complete."

Naruto turns around, a relieved smile on his face. "Shikamaru, Chouji!"

"Ino!" Sakura's expression mirrors Naruto's.

I, on the other hand, am not happy when Chouji goes ahead and uses what looks like one of their team's usual formations. Because it includes him grabbing Sora with both hands, a bad idea considering what happens to someone who touches a shinobi who is cloaked thoroughly in the demon's chakra.

"What's this, more friends come to save you?" Sora struggles against Chouji's grip. "It doesn't make any sense. If you've really got the Nine-Tails inside you, how can you have so many friends? You should be an outcast. Why aren't you alone, like I've been? Like I've been all these years?

"It was the same with me, too. Once." It hurts to hear Naruto say that. But I know that he needs to get this out of his system and into the air before I start interfering. "When I was little, for the most part, I was left on my own. But you see, even then, I didn't have the time to be lonely. I was too busy getting people to notice me. And it finally worked. Yep, I made friends like these, good friends."

"I have no friends, no friends at all!" Sora is starting to go off the rails again, little by little. Naruto had better hope that his little speech works, otherwise this is going to get very ugly.

"You're wrong! I'm-" Naruto cuts off the word. "I mean all of us are your friends."

"Well, I'm not, but I'm willing to give it a try. After all, I gravitated towards you the first day I met you, didn't I?" All eyes turns towards me as I cuff Naruto over the head with one of my wings. "It's kinda rare that we aren't joined at the hip. But I'm glad to see that you didn't go and get yourself killed while I was gone." Morbid humor, I can be good at it sometimes.

"Ciara!" Naruto's eyes bug out. "I thought you weren't getting back for a couple more days!"

"I got back early, flew all the way here, too." I glance at the boy who is only semi-lucid right now. "So, your name is Sora, huh? Nice to meet you. I'm best friends with Naruto."

"Best…friends?" He says it like the words are foreign to him. "But how…?" Then his eyes find my wings. "What…are you?

"I'm like Naruto. Just friendlier on the inside." It's a mild way of putting things, but it should get the point across.

He blinks, and his eyes glaze over a little. That doesn't last long. I have no idea what sets him off, or if anything sets him off at all, but the chakra suddenly spikes, and Chouji reels back, his palms burned by the increase in destructive chakra. Ino jumps back, trying to perform a mind transfer on Sora in order to calm him. But I have a feeling that it's not going to work nearly as well as she's hoping.

The scream tells me that I'm right.

"Ino!" Shikamaru looks back at his teammate, to where Kiba and Lee are looking after her. "What happened with the mind transfer!?"

She shakes her head. "There was…there was no human consciousness left in him."

Shikamaru grimaces. "I'm afraid I've hit the wall too." His jutsu isn't going to last much longer. And that's when two more tails grow out of Sora's chakra cloak. The shadow possession shatters, and Sora's body is free to do as the chakra bids it.

"Sora…" Naruto's eyes widen in shock and awe. Then, the idiot takes off right towards his crazed friend, without even drawing a weapon for defense. I love my best friend, really, I do, but sometimes, he's a total nutcase! "No, Sora!"

"Naruto, no! Be careful!" There's another person that I don't recognize. But judging by the Leaf headband and the degree of familiarity, he's probably a friend.

"Naruto, don't!" Sakura's voice rings shrilly across the crater, having little to no effect on Naruto.

"Dammit…" I crouch towards the ground and feel the power flowing through me. "Naruto, you had better be careful, because you know that I can only get to the fourth tail!"

"Yeah, I know!" Nevertheless, he races forward, leaving me far behind.

Cursing again under my breath, I place my hands on the ground and look back over my shoulder towards our rather large audience. "All of you, get out of the crater, now! You can't be here!" It's too dangerous for any of them to stay here. They'll get caught in the crossfire, should it come to that, and that could be very lethal. "So get going right-"

A huge blast of wind races across the crater, blasting Naruto away from Sora, nearly upending me in the process. Thankfully, Suzaku's talons keep me firmly attached to the ground.

 _Damn it!_ It looks like I was too late. It would have been better to arrive before Sora's chakra started going haywire. _Looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way. Are you ready?_

 _Of course, chick. So long as he does not gain the fifth tail, you shall have more than enough power to suppress the chakra._

 _Good. Because this isn't going to be pretty. Start the change slowly, I don't want it to happen as fast as last time._

 _Very well._ He goes silent, but his power doesn't, welling up inside me like a balloon being filled with air.

"Wait, that's Sora." I look back to see Naruto pulling himself out of the mound of dirt and rock. "He's still in there. It may not look like it, but the real Sora is there! He's just gotta be! Don't hurt him!"

 _Dammit…_ "I'm not going to hurt him, Naruto! I'm going into suppression mode! If you were paying attention, then you would know that!" Honestly, you'd think that Naruto would know what I'm doing, why my chakra is fluctuating so wildly, considering that he's the one who's been on the receiving end of this ability until now. I've never actually tried it on anyone else.

Sora's chakra starts to lash out violently, leading Naruto to race on ahead and try to pin Sora down from above. "Sora! That's enough!" Naruto flies down towards him, before getting smashed into the ground by one of the chakra tails.

"Darn it." Naruto gets to his feet, staring frustratedly at Sora. "For crying out loud, snap out of it!"

Naruto's voice calls Sora's attention, unleashing a stream of chakra towards Naruto that flies out towards him, sending him flying again.

The next minute and thirty seconds are a chaotic mish-mash of Shikamaru's shadows, Chouji's bodily expansions, Kiba and Akamaru spinning their way into the fray, and Lee trying to get in a good kick or two, all while someone, probably that one guy here that I haven't met yet, makes a bunch of wood style restraints pop out of the ground. I didn't even know that wood style was a thing anymore, I thought that the history books said it died with the First Hokage.

I curse under my breath as all of them get thrown back, almost knocked to the brink of unconsciousness, and turn to Sakura and Ino. "Both of you, tend to the boys. And do not, under any circumstances, let any of them wiggle their way back into this battle. Understood?"

"You and me are the same…Sora." _Oh no, Naruto's at it again._ "Hey Sora, remember? We thrashed around like this then, and tried to stomp each other. I guess we were pretty dumb, huh?" He's trying to reason with Sora, and I know it's not going to work.

It looks like unlike Naruto, Sora can't keep even a bit conscious at the third tail. And that's bad. I grit my teeth and try to let the transformation go faster. I just need another half minute, is that really too much to ask? "Naruto, be careful!"

But he doesn't heed my warning, and Naruto's clones materialize out of thin air, jumping into the crater, trying to pin Sora down. And then, the real Naruto follows, staying put there when the clones all get blown away. "Sora! Sora, come back to us! I know you're still in there, Sora!"

"Get away from Sora, now!" The wood-style user's warning falls on deaf ears as soon as its uttered. There's no way that Naruto would run from someone who needs him. He's an idiot like that. "Naruto!"

"Sora! Come on, snap out of it! You've gotta try!" Naruto growls angrily. "Listen to me!"

"Naruto!" I grit my teeth and the chakra within me flows faster, the first tail appearing in a flash of fire. "You idiot! Are you trying to make my job harder!?" He's gone and been touched by the fox cloak, and now it's covering him as well. In hindsight, I really should have seen that coming.

That weird wood style guy gets way too close to the two of them for comfort. "Hokage Style: Elder Jutsu: Tenth Edict of Enlightenment!" He springs forward, tapping Naruto on the back, before retreating, a chakra thread handing between the two of them while pillars of wood rise out of the ground. But instead of doing whatever he intended it to do, the chakra dissolves. "W-what's happening here? It's never like this! It's coming from the outside?"

When the cloak envelops Naruto further, growing the first three tails as he panics, I curse and make the second, third, and fourth tails appear. I hate forcing the transition like this, but there's nothing to be done about it. "Naruto! I'm almost ready, so calm down!"

"W-why now!?" Naruto starts to shake as the fox's will starts to leak out. I can sense it, the malicious, resentful energy. "No! Damn it!"

"I'm here!" I jump on top on Naruto, knocking him flat on his stomach as the chakra around him lashes out at me. _Alright Fox, get the hell back! Let go of my best friend, or I'm gonna go in there and force you right back into the darkest corner of that cage until you can behave!_ It doesn't sit well to threaten him like that, but I feel like I have no choice.

I mean…he's a sentient being too, right? _I wonder why he's so angry…_

 _Chick, there is no time to ponder it now, the chakra around the other one is about to consume him. We must finish with Naruto quickly!_

I look up to see something…rather horrific. But it's something I've seen happen to Naruto before. Sora's skin is peeling from his body, the chakra burning it away as the scent of blood fills the air. "Naruto! You need to get a hold of yourself, now!" I pump chakra into Naruto trying to force the lethal chakra back.

And it works, Naruto's will lets mine and Suzaku's chakra flood through his system, not only driving the dangerous chakra back, but also tending to the injuries that Naruto has built up over the course of his battle today. Two birds, one stone.

Now, if only it were going to be that easy with Sora…because by the looks of him and the chakra flaring around him, he's not going to go down quietly. The chakra around Sora builds up to critical mass, before bursting out violently in all directions, nearly blinding me with the brightness of it. _Damn it, I'm not going to be able to be gentle with this one!_

I wrap my wings tightly around the two of us as we roll across the crater, slamming into one of the high walls. Luckily, we both seem to be fine, and my wings only ache a little. They're getting stronger. Maybe one day, they'll be strong enough to take even bigger impacts, instead of just being fireproof and absorbing shock.

"Naruto, I'm going to grab him. Once I do, if you're going to talk some sense into him, do it fast. Because if he doesn't have the will to fight the chakra, pushing it all back by force alone might kill him." I know that for certain, considering how badly Sora's body seems to be taking the transformation, I just know it in my bones.

"Yeah, okay." He stands up as soon as I unwrap my wings. "Just be careful out there, alright?"

"I know." I get up behind him, still crouching slightly. "I'll wrap him up nice and tight for you."

I take off in a second, flying through the air as I drop down right behind Sora. He makes noises that no human should make, more like a wild animal than anything else. It's like there really is nothing human left in him. But…I have to believe that there is, otherwise there would be no choice but to kill him. And that makes my stomach turn.

He tries to claw at me, especially at my face as I grab hold of him, the chakra almost burning my palms, if not for the protective layer of chakra that Suzaku is projecting around me. "Oh no you don't." My tails wrap up and around him, curling around his limbs as I lock the two of us together and force him towards the ground, the two chakras fighting their own battle.

"Come on Sora! Come back!" It looks like Naruto is going to try and wake Sora up for me. "Come on, wake up! Are you gonna stay asleep forever!? Wake up!"

As he tries to reach Sora, I pump a massive amount of chakra into him, trying to push and pull at the malicious chakra within him. It doesn't want to budge, but it's about to find out just how stubborn I can be. And I work on dislodging the chakra as Sora roars? Screams? It sounds like a combination of the two as he fights against me, before going limp again.

Naruto stumbles over, probably exhausted from all of the fighting, both within and without. "Fight it Sora, we're gonna save you."

"That we will!" I tighten my grip, feeling the chakra in my hands. _Suzaku…can you help me pull the fox chakra away from him?_

There's a profound silence. _…Yes chick, I can. But we must be careful. He may not be a true jinchuuriki, but taking the chakra away will likely damage his body if done too quickly. You must be cautious._

 _Isn't that what you're here for?_ I smirk little despite the situation. After all, he's the one who helped me refine my medical ninjutsu. And this is kinda like surgery, right?

Sora's chakra pulses again under my grasp, and I can barely even hear what Naruto is saying anymore, the blood pounding in my ears with the effort of trying to balance out and separate the chakras is like a thunderstorm. It's so loud that I can only just make out the words wake up, friends, fight, and Sora.

 _Focus on peeling away the chakra, forget Naruto and let him handle things out there, focus on things right here._ And with Sora starting to thrash around again beneath me, I tighten my grip and peel the chakra like an orange. Piece by tiny piece, like the most stubborn orange peel.

With every layer that I peel from his body, even if I can't see it yet, I can feel it, it's working. He's thrashing even more, roaring and screaming. It's loud in my ears, and it hurts. And the outer layers of chakra start lashing out in all directions, nearly separating us, and battering into my stomach. It's fighting, hard, but like an animal in a cage, it wants to escape.

And I'm going to let it, because through it, I can feel a human mind. Naruto must have woken Sora up.

It's only through Suzaku's strength that I hold on as the chakra shoots into the sky, our own chakra pushing at it from within, slipping through the cracks to separate it like gum from a shoe.

I look up, and there it is, a swirling, orange fox head made of pure chakra and dark emotions. And it makes me…sad. So much rage and hatred…it makes me sad to feel any creature in that much pain. But as it roars, I put aside my feelings of sympathy and flap my wings powerfully, blowing all of the chakra into the sky and away from Sora as the monstrous head roars. My wings flap harder and harder, bending far enough back to create an updraft that tears the chakra into pieces as it begins to dissipate.

All resistance from Sora ceases as the power leaves him, revealing the boy from earlier, his skin burned red by the chakra. He sags in my arms, falling into my lap as I kneel on the ground. "Damn…you're as much of a handful as Naruto."

Naruto groans next to me, opening his eyes. "Sora? Is he okay?"

"He's fine, just unconscious." I put my hand over his forehead, chakra emanating from it. "He should wake up in a few minutes." First, though, I should heal him and take away some of the pain. Better to do that before he wakes up and feels it. But as Sora stirs, I increase the rate of healing. "Dumbass…should have stayed asleep a bit longer."

He doesn't even respond to it as Naruto creeps closer. "So, you're finally awake?" My best friend grins. "Are you ready to go home, or what?"

"A home? Are you joking?" There's so much loneliness in Sora's eyes that it makes my heart ache. "I don't have a home anymore. Where am I supposed to go?"

"What are you talkin' about? Here, of course. The Leaf is your home now?

"The Leaf? You mean the same village I just tried to destroy?" Great, now Sora's got guilt over something that wasn't his fault. If I don't head that off quickly, this could turn into a real mess.

I look down at him and shake my head. "I may not have been here for the whole thing, but I highly doubt that THIS was your fault." I point around to the crater. "We typically don't end up with power like this by choice."

He looks up at me, frowning. "You're the girl…Naruto's best friend. Ciara, right?"

"That's right." I flutter my wings a little, retracting all of the tails. "Lucky for you that I just got back from the Sand, otherwise this could have gotten even more out of hand. After all, I helped you because you're Naruto's friend."

"Friend?" His eyes widen as he looks over at Naruto. "We're…friends?"

"Naruto grins, despite the burns on his face. "That's right!"

"You bet." Sakura walks over, followed by the others. And despite the terror of the last…what, twenty minutes? They're all smiling and looking extremely relieved.

There's a slight coughing behind us, and I look over my shoulder to see a very pale boy with inky black hair. "Um…do you mind if I'm a part of this too?"

Naruto pouts like an idiot. "No way, Sai. Beat it."

The boy blinks, looking slightly devastated. "Uh, but I thought-"

"Naruto!" I cuff Naruto over the head again with one of my wings, shifting slightly so that he lands next to Sora, his head in my lap. "You idiot! Be nice to people!"

Everyone bursts out laughing, and the poor guy looks a little poleaxed. It looks to me like the guy is socially awkward, to say the least. Maybe…he just needs a little push.

I'm willing to give him that push. "I take it that you're another friend of Naruto's." I smile softly, my eyes flicking to the one dressed like a jounin. "And I haven't met you yet either."

The wood-user nods. "My name is Yamato. I was filling in as captain of Team Kakashi. And this is Sai, he's filling…the vacant spot on the team."

My shoulders drop slightly. "Sasuke's place…" I close my eyes, saying another silent prayer for my wayward cousins. Then, I open them again and smile. "Well, I hope that you do your best to get along with Naruto and Sakura. Theirs is…easily the most chaotic team." I look back down at the two boys in my lap, both of who are starting to nod off. Idiots…

Shikamaru rolls his eyes at me. "The chaos aside, you forgot to tell them your name." He ruffles my hair up, making it even messier than the battle already had. "This is Lady Ciara Shiryugu. She's technically a member of Squad Twelve, but seeing as her whole squad had made jounin, and got recruited to different specializations, she's more a medical officer nowadays. And she accompanies teams out sometimes on missions, usually if they involve Naruto."

"I see…" Sai peers at me. "There's something…different about you."

I blink at him. "Did the wings tip you off? The feathers in my hair? Maybe the eyes?"

He shakes his head. "No something…else. I can't quite…name it."

"Okay…?" Well, I guess I'll just let him ponder that a while. He can tell me later "Anyway, we need to get everyone to the hospital so that I can patch them up. And after that, I need to sleep, I've been awake for two days and did two suppressions immediately following a battle, and now I'm on healing. I'm exhausted."

"Of course you are." That's Asuma's voice right behind me, and I look over my shoulder just as he puts a hand on it. "You did good, kid."

I smile up at him. "Thanks, Uncle."

He squeezes gently. "And welcome home."

It's good to be back.


	16. Temple or Palace

**Okay, so this chapter is kind of angsty, but takes a bunch of upward turns and downward spirals, before turning back up at the end. Next chapter, we get into some fun stuff.**

 **Enjoy. It starts...with a nightmare.**

* * *

 _A woman with long blond hair approaches, stepping on water as blue flames grow around her, reflecting off the water below us. "They're coming. The Akatsuki chased me across whole villages. They're collecting us, it's their mission."_

 _Their mission? "Who are you!?" I strain against whatever is holding me back, preventing me from going to her as blood starts to drip from her mouth, her head, her chest._

 _"Yugito…Yugito Nii of the Hidden Cloud." Her bangs move to reveal the village headband nestled there. "Jinchuuriki of the Two-Tails." Two-Tails? She's like me. Like Gaara. Like the others._

 _"Yugito!?" I try to reach out, but to no avail. "Tell me, are you still alive!?" She can't…she can't be dead, like the others. Like Yagura…Fu…Han… "How can I save you!?" I have to save her, I just…I have to!_

 _She shakes her head. "I'm sorry." Then, her image wavers, growing transparent and faint. "Heed my warning. They come for you as well. They're all coming for you…the last…and you'll see us all before they take you too."_

 _"No!" No, I can't see more nightmares. "Please tell me that I can save you!" I have to stop the nightmares! They're dying, one by one, I have to stop it! "Tell me! TELL ME!"_

 _"The countdown has begun." And with that, she disappears, leaving me alone as I plunge into the depths of the water. I can't breathe, it's dark, it's cold._

 _Help me…someone, help me!_

* * *

I gasp as I sit up in bed, cold sweat running down my body. My hands shake as I look down at them, seeing red for a moment. Blood. Yugito's blood.

"Damn it…" I bit my lip as tears pour down my cheeks. "Yugito…" Curling up into a ball, I pull my sheets over my head to block out the sunlight streaming in the window. "No…" I feel like my heart has been broken in two, just like the other times…

Because she's already dead. I just know it.

My stomach growls, but I have no appetite, not after a nightmare like that. Hell, maybe it's growling at the nightmare instead. Either way, I couldn't possibly eat right now. I feel like I need time to grieve, once again, for someone I've never met. Never gotten the chance to meet.

 _Why do they hate us so much…?_

A warm feeling envelops me, familiar chakra that I know very well. _It is not you that they hate, it is us. They fear us…want our power… You have done nothing wrong, remember that._

I turn over, pressing my face into my pillow to try and stem the flow of tears. _But that won't stop them from killing them…killing us…killing all of them before finally taking me…I can't-_ I've already lost too much, I can't keep fearing that I'll lose people, it's driving me insane. As if these nightmares weren't bad enough, it's on top of my usual nightmares. Nightmares of the past, and now of the present… Soon enough, I'll probably be having nightmares of the future too.

A bird taps on the window. A bird that I know well. It belongs to Tsunade. It's one of the birds that she uses to summon jounin either for missions or meetings. She wants to see me.

It takes a grand total of fifteen minutes to shower, dress, and arrive at the door to Tsunade's office. And as soon as I raise my hand to knock, her voice comes from inside. "Enter."

I guess that's my cue to open the door. And I do so, stepping inside and closing it behind me as I approach the Hokage's desk. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes…" She looks at me like she's conducting a medical examination, frowning a little, before sighing. "You had a nightmare, I take it?"

I blink, not expecting the question. "How…how did you know?"

Another sigh. "I know very well what a shinobi looks like after they've had a nightmare. I lived through two Great Ninja Wars. I know the symptoms of post-traumatic stress." She motions to a chair next to the desk. "Sit."

"Alright?" I takes a seat, not entirely sure where this is going. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"You." Her answer takes me by surprise. "While you were in the Sand, we discovered some…details about your clan that I'm not sure if you know or not." She takes a few pieces of paper fro a folder inside the top drawer of her desk. "Do you remember ever hearing about a man named Nori Shiryugu?"

"Nori…?" The name sounds familiar to me. "Uh…my great-uncle, I think. He died before I was born." But why would she… "Have you been looking into my family?"

She nods. "Gaara sent us a letter near the start of your visit in the Sand, he had concerns about some inconsistencies in your behavior, and asked me to look into it."

"Inconsistencies?" The thought confuses me. "What do you mean by inconsistencies?" I didn't think my behavior was at all inconsistent, or at least, not out of character.

"Yes." She laces her fingers together, the papers spread out over her desk. "Anxiety, nightmares, drastic shifts between high and low moods. All likely triggered by Gaara's recent abduction." She looks down at the papers, which seem to be some kind of medical report. "And we found a genetic pre-disposition to manic depression."

Okay, now that doesn't make any sense. "What do you mean a genetic pre-disposition to being bi-polar?" I know that you can be predisposed to certain conditions, but I'd never heard of something like that. Dad sure wasn't that way. He was almost always in a good mood.

"Has your kekkai genkai made itself known yet?" Tsunade shoots the question at me quickly. "Because I'm worried that it may be tied to your family's special abilities."

"My-" _She knows about my family's ability? She actually did the research?_ "…No, I can't turn into a dragon yet." And it's embarrassing, really. Sasuke manifested his Sharingan a long time ago, Shisui and Itachi had mastered their power by my age, not to mention Hinata and Neji both being able to use their visual jutsu no problem… Haku was twelve, and he had such mastery over his. I jut feel like everyone I meet with a special ability in their blood has so much of a head start on me.

She frowns at me, before looking down at the papers on her desks. "Are there any signs that you will manifest the ability?"

There are, and that's part of what frustrates me. "Yes. When Sasuke was still in the village, I once asked him to look at me with his Sharingan and tell me what he saw." It had been around the time of the Chunin Exams. "He said that my chakra was white, with a bright red, orange, and yellow center." I place my hand on my stomach. "The bright colors are him…but the white chakra is mine."

"White chakra?" Tsunade starts tapping her fingers on the desk. "I see, and this particular color of chakra is unique to those who carry your kekkai genkai, I'm guessing."

I nod slowly. "I think so. There's also the fact that with a little practice, I can use all five basic elements naturally. Wind and fire are my strongest, but I would attribute that to Suzaku's influence. Otherwise, I would say they're all equally strong." Even if water, and especially earth were difficult to grasp at first.

"Which should be impossible, especially for someone your age." She seems to accept that piece of evidence at face value. "So, it's better to act under the assumption that you will manifest this ability sooner or later, and proceed as though it is a given. In fact, your body's chemistry, especially that of your brain, might already be changing in order to accommodate the development. Which means that if we take Nori Shiryugu's case as an example, I'm only left with one safe option."

There's a sense of dread that pounds through my veins at her words. "And what option is that?"

She eyes me sternly. "Calm down, you'll prefer this option. After all, it is in favor of not sending you off somewhere to self-destruct at a safe distance from the village. Simply put, that option is to let things remain as they are."

I blink confusedly. "As they are?"

"Yes." She sighs and smiles softly. "You'll work at the hospital, hang out with Naruto, I might send you on missions with him. Spend time with your friends. Your clan may be gone, but you still have your friends. So, since Naruto is in training, I think that you should find him and follow his lead. Train with him and become stronger, strong enough to protect the people you care about."

Strong enough to protect them…? Despite my earlier breakdown, there's a small flood of energy pulsing through me at those words. "Yes…protect them…" I can protect them, I have to, that's what I'm for. It's why I exist. I clench my fists and take a deep breath. "Alright. I'll go find Naruto and see about training together."

"Yes, yes, go on." She waves me off. "And try not to destroy any of the training fields."

"No promises." I smirk as I head for the door, feeling a lot lighter now than when I came in. "I mean, it's me and Naruto, and things get kind of crazy when we train together."

"Yes, so Jiraiya's told me…" I can just hear the exasperation in her voice as I close the door behind me.

* * *

"Forget that!" I knew that if I followed Naruto's chakra, it would lead me straight to his loud voice. "Come on, let's skip to the part where I work on my new killer jutsu! You know, the super secret deluxe special Naruto Uzumaki Rasengan!" And now I can see him break-dancing, awesome… "Or whatever it's called!"

I chuckle behind a tree. "As energetic as always."

"No kidding." Sakura walks up behind me, smiling at the sight of Naruto over there. "Are you feeling better now? We haven't been able to find you for three days."

 _I was out for three days…?_ I guess it makes sense, since I forced the transformation like that. "Yes, I'm feeling better. I just needed some time to myself to recuperate. I'm not used to using that form like that." I eye the pale ninja behind her. "And I see you brought company. Sai, right?"

He nods. "Yes, and you are Lady Ciara, correct?"

I smile sheepishly. "Just…Ciara is fine." I don't think I'll ever be comfortable with a title attached to my name. Whether it's appropriate or not.

The pale boy blinks, before smiling…very oddly. "Alright…Ciara."

Sakura slap her forehead, before leaning towards my ear. "He's still learning how to socialize with people, and he smiles kind of weird because he's trying to teach himself how. Apparently, he's used to not showing, or even feeling emotions. So he's trying to figure out how to do that by reading books."

"Is that so…?" That sounds really weird to me, but who am I to question it? Everyone has their quirks. Tsunade apparently figured mine out before I did. I turn to him, approaching him slowly as I get close to his face to examine the smile. "Try…softening your smile, relax into it rather than trying to force it. Every smile is a little different, even in just showing different emotions." I laugh and grin a little. "After all, not a lot of people can pull off the same smile that Naruto can and not look weird doing it, so don't try to force it, okay?"

He gives mean odd look, but does as I say, relaxing the smile he'd attempted. It still looks a little odd, but not nearly as much now. "Like this?"

I nod. "You're getting there. Just don't try to force it, let it come naturally, like breathing. If a feeling hits you, just…let it happen." After all, thats where advantages like instinct and intuition come in. And empathy, reading people, understanding them. So many ninja seem to underestimate emotions so much that it's now part of our curriculum. A mistake, in my opinion.

"Okay…" Sai nods, as though understanding some kind of concept. It's really not that difficult, but maybe…for him it is? Who knows…

There's a cry of jubilation behind us, coming from Naruto's direction. So I quirk my head towards him curiously. "What kind of training is he doing, anyway?"

Sakura giggles. "Wind chakra training. He's trying to learn a new jutsu."

"A new jutsu, huh?" Now that makes me smile, despite the fact that he seems to have knocked himself out for now. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go and take a look."

"Alright." Sakura smiles wryly as she catches sight of Naruto. She pushes away from her tree and follows me, along with Sai. "That idiot…always pushing himself so hard."

The affection and exasperation in her voice make me laugh. "But that's why we love him so much. Loving someone means that you're willing to tell them when they're being a dumbass."

She blinks at me in surprise, before her expression softens. "Yeah, I guess. And he definitely needs to be told that sometimes. It's for his own good, really."

"Exactly…" And my best friend definitely deserves the title of idiot sometimes. An earnest, determined, hardworking idiot, but an idiot nonetheless. "I've also got some choice words for when we find Sasuke again."

Sakura freezes about halfway to Naruto, her eyes dim. "…While we were looking for that spy Sasori had planted with Orochimaru…we found Sasuke."

"You found…" Why is it that I miss so much when I'm gone, and yet, nothing happens while I'm here? _Sasuke…_ "…Did he look healthy?"

Instead of Sakura, it's Sai that answers me. "Yes, he appeared to be in perfect health. My impression of him was that he is short-tempered and easily annoyed, very angry, and unwilling to return, even at Naruto's insistence."

I sigh at the description. "Well, at least he's healthy. I expected as much on the rest of it." It's why I pray for the moron. And for Itachi, because he's being an idiot too and not telling me everything I want to know. "Well, when we find him again, he gets twice as many smacks as Naruto for being a dumbass." Hiding things from the people you love does not end well. Which reminds me…I'm going to need to figure out when to break Tsunade's news about me to Naruto. After all, not telling him would make me just as much of an idiot.

Kakashi looks over at us, raising an eyebrow as he motions us over. "It's good to see that someone's awake, at least."

"Yeah, sorry about that." I grin sheepishly. "Looks like it was hard on my body to force that transformation so fast. Naruto was supposed to buy me time to ease into it." Because he knows that I'm still trying to build up how much power I can use and how fast.

He nods. "The Hokage was looking for you."

"I know." I crouch down in front of Naruto's unconscious form. "I already went to see her."

"Good." Kakashi looks down at me curiously. "Was it important?"

Well… "I guess you could say it is. But it doesn't change anything, really. I'm just a little more aware of the situation is all." I wave my hand in front of Naruto's face. "He's out like a light." Otherwise my voice and a little movement around his face would be more than enough to wake him up. Still, I take a look around and nod slightly. "This is a nice training spot you've got. If…a little exposed." Too exposed.

"Do you have a better spot in mind?" Kakashi asks that a little too knowingly, as if he knows precisely where I would prefer to have Naruto train.

I glance at Sai and the other guy…Yamato, I think he said his name was. Then, I look to Sakura and Kakashi. Theres a clear question hovering about me.

Kakashi nods. "If the place you have in mind is where I think it is, then yes, you can trust them."

The assertion makes me smile. "Good. Then are you up for a hike?"

Sakura blinks. "A hike to where?"

"Think of it…as a private training ground." That's not a lie, it is both private, and there is a training ground, many, in fact. But as I hoist Naruto onto my back, I smile. "I think you guys will like it."

* * *

Sakura pants a little not long before we reach the stairs. "Are you sure that we're not going to get in trouble for going up here? There's supposed to be some kind of temple at the top, right?" She stares at me in astonishment. "And how can you carry him so far?"

"Determination and stamina training." After all, I had to keep up with Naruto somehow. "And no, no one is going to get in trouble because there ISN'T a temple up there."

"I do believe that you're mistaken." Sai pulls a book out of his pocket, and where he got it, I have no clue, but it looks like it's on myths and legends. "Yes, as I thought, this is Tenryuuzan, the Mountain of the Heavenly Dragon. It's considered to be a sacred place in the Land of Fire."

I hang my head, shaking it. "Okay, that part is true. This is Mount Tenryuu, but there's no temple up there. At least…not the kind that you're thinking of." There is the Hall of Wisdom, and that could be like a temple, but it's more of an archive than anything else, especially since it leads to the library. I eye Kakashi suspiciously. "You know what's up there. Please tell me that you don't buy into all of the stories that get told about this place."

"What!?" Sakura turns to Kakashi as we reach the stairs. "You've been up there!?"

Kakashi scratches at his mask. "Once, but that was a very long time ago. I was only a few years older than you kids are now."

Even Yamato looks a bit surprised at that. "Then…what exactly is up there?" It kind of surprises me that he wouldn't know, considering his age. But maybe my clan was just secretive about all of it. Clans were like that sometimes.

I smile sadly at the steps. "It is named for dragons, after all. What do you think is up there?"

"A temple to dragons? Maybe a shrine?" Sai is really hooked on the idea that there's a temple up there. "According to the book, they used to live there."

The blood in my veins goes cold. "Yeah…they used to. And one still does…" I look at the long stone staircase. "Well, follow me, I'll show you what's at the top."

I leap up a couple dozen stairs with every jump, maintaining a constant speed as I race up the three thousand steps. On both sides, carved terraces ringed by trees zoom past, dotted with beautiful wood and stone houses, and newly replanted gardens. It must have taken my uncle and his clan members the whole time I was away to fix it all. And somehow they managed to keep it a secret? My ANBU captain of an uncle must have sworn them to secrecy or something.

Sakura catches up to me quickly. "What IS this place…?" Her eyes are wide in wonder. "How did no one know that this was up here? How did YOU know this was up here?"

"You'll see." How could I not know what's up there? It's where I was born, after all.

It's not long before we make it to the top, and Naruto starts to stir on my back. "Mmm…Ciara?" Where are we?" Okay, so he's semi-aware of his surroundings. "Where's Kakashi-Sensei?"

I glance back over my shoulder. "He's here. We're just taking a little field trip to a new training ground, that's all. Want me to let you down?"

He nods as he slips off my back, slowly finding his feet. Then, he takes a good look around us. "Whoa! Where the heck are we!?" He spots the giant three story house in front of us. "Hey! That looks like a temple!"

I slam my palm to my forehead. "For the last time, it's not a temple!" Though I suppose that it's old enough to look like one. I go up to the doors and push them open slowly. "This is my house. It's the main house of the Shiryugu Clan's estate. This whole mountain belongs to me."

Naruto peers inside, taking in the stairs that lead up to the second floor balcony, and the rooms spaced evenly along that floor. "This is your HOUSE!? It's HUGE!"

Sakura frowns. "It's awfully big for just one person."

"Because it's not meant for one person." But nonetheless, it's my home. And I'd rather not leave it again. "Anyway, as you can see, it's not a temple."

"Well, to you, it's not." Kakashi places his hand on my shoulder. "To us normal folks, it's the home of dragons. A holy place."

"One dragon." I clench my fists angrily. "And I'm still not quite there yet." Holy place, it's funny that he would call it that after all of the blood spilled here.

"Huh, a dragon?" Naruto frowns at me. "Whaddya mean a dragon?" You'd think that someone with a giant fox demon stashed inside them would be less surprised by the notion of a dragon.

"It means a baby dragon that can't even fly yet." At least, not without help from a friendly demon. Though it's a rather generous way of putting it. And I'm still angry with myself for blooming so slowly. I feel as though I'm failing at what I'm supposed to be. And it's aggravating, to say the least.

Sakura tilts her head bemusedly. "But…dragons don't actually exist, right? That's a story parents tell their kids at bedtime." But something makes her backtrack. "I mean, maybe there were dragons once, but…I've never seen one."

Kakashi's hand squeezes my shoulder. "That's because…well, do you want me to tell them?"

"Go ahead. It won't change anything." Though I'm still surprised he knows. Well, sort of surprised. After all, he was there that night, after everyone was gone. "How do you even know about that?"

"Well, that's because I fought in the last war. And I saw your father, and your grandfather, and your great uncle all display the power that's still sleeping inside you." Ah, that would explain it. "The color of your chakra is a dead giveaway. It's white, just like theirs." He pats my head, mussing up the braid a bit. "The Shiryugu, like every clan, had their secrets. Including a very special and very old kekkai genkai." He points up to the dragon motifs decorating the room. "A select few of them could turn themselves into dragons by expelling their spirit from their body."

Naruto's eyes bug out, and Sakura and Sai are similarly staring at me. Thankfully, at least one of them is still working on making facial expressions, because his is less pronounced than the others.

Sakura shakes out of it first. "Expelling their spirit? Like Ino's mind transfer techniques?"

"Not exactly…" Kakashi shakes his head. "Unlike Ino's mind transfer, which can only be used effectively at a short range, the Shiryugu's spirits leave their bodies entirely, and their chakra is expelled with it, leaving their bodies empty while their souls fly about freely as dragons. At least, that's what I observed during their battles."

"That's about the size of it." I'm actually surprised that he knows so much about it, when it seems like a lot of people forgot. Or maybe most of the people who were old enough to know were killed in action. That would make sense. "Anyway, the training field is out back. Kitchen is through that archway." I point over to the left side of the room. "Living room is through the one on the other side."

"This place is huge…" Naruto spins around, taking in a full view of the place. "Where's your room!?"

The question finally puts a small smile on my face. "Up here." I flicker up to the second floor balcony on the left side, to the third door in the row. I slide the door open and step inside, not taking long to flick on the light and sit down on my bed as Naruto walks inside.

His eyes widen as he looks around. "Wow, this is way different to your old room!" Of course it would be, after all, it's a hell of a lot bigger. You could fit a regular sized kitchen and dining room in here.

"This is amazing…" Sakura's eyes widen as she walks in to take in the sight of my bedroom, eyes skirting over the blue bedspread and up to where picture frames hang on the walls. Her eyes narrow at one in particular. "Wait…is that-"

"My uncle Shisui and his best friend, Itachi." _Shi-Shi and Chi-Chi…_ I look to the picture of them with a four year old me. "Back when my family was still alive."

She freezes, backing away from the picture guiltily. "And…how about them?" She points to another picture frame with a collage of photos put together. Then, she frowns. "Wait, is that a Sharingan? …Four of them?"

"My father's siblings." I didn't really think about it when I was little, but I guess it would be weird for them to have that. "They took after Grandma Akane. She was an Uchiha. Dad was the one who took after Grandpa, the odd one out." I may have been little, but I spent enough time with them to know that. And I also know that I took after Dad and Grandpa.

Naruto stares at the many pictures on my wall. "So you're…like Sasuke's cousin, right?"

"Not as closely related as you're thinking, but yeah, distantly." Closer than most of the other clans tied into my family's tree. Mostly because of the number of Uchiha that we absorbed. But still, I'll pray for my cousins, because someone's got to. "For geniuses, my cousins sure can be dumb sometimes…"

His gaze softens a little, before he plops down on my bed with me, dragging me down onto the blankets. "We're gonna find him again, promise."

"Yeah…" I smile at him. Because if I have it my way, we're going to find both of them. "And to do that, we need to get back into training."

Naruto grins widely, his energy level spiking rapidly. "Then what are we waitin' for?"

"Absolutely nothing." I hop off my bed and gesture out towards the lobby. "Come on, the training field is out back. And I really think you'll like it."

"Sweet! Private training field!" Naruto almost leaps off my bed in his excitement. "Let's go!"


	17. When In Doubt, Wind Chakra

**Well, I'm glad to be back. I've been inspired to write this story lately, and even though this chapter really wanted to fight me at times (and at other times, the cleaning just couldn't wait), it's done, and I hope that it helps to fill in a little more of the world, and some extra character development. Because, let's face it, most of the characters in the series could really use more development. Only a handful of them really get it.**

 **Anyway, please enjoy. There's some crack in it that I hope you all appreciate. There's also some special connections regarding her demonstrations that I hope you all can make. And I do enjoy getting the reviews popping up in my inbox. So thank you for that. :)**

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

"Alright, let's get started!" Naruto pumps his fists into the air. "So what's next? Is it-"

"Hold up!" Kakashi holds his hand up to stop Naruto's question before it really begins. "Before we get to the hard stuff, you should probably know that compared to the other jutsu I've copied, the smallest percentage of them are wind style. Simply put, they aren't my specialty."

Naruto deflates in an instant, and Sakura frowns. "But Kakashi-Sensei, how is he supposed to learn to control a wind nature then?" Okay, obviously I missed something. Since when was Naruto learning wind nature?

"Well…" Kakashi turns to me pointedly. "We have one wind specialist here with us. So since we're in her private training ground, maybe she'll give us another demonstration."

Sai and Yamato turn to me, both of them seeming rather curious. Well, as curious as you can be with muted emotions. So, that leaves me shaking my head and rolling my eyes. "I guess I can give a lesson on it, since it's my personal favorite of the five basic chakra natures." Though it doesn't change the fact that I can use all five to a certain degree of proficiency.

"Alright!" Naruto bounds over, watching even more attentively than usual. "Can you show me those tricks you do with your wind chakra and your weapons?"

An odd request. "Sure." I reach back for a shuriken, holding it at an angle as I lace a finger through the hole in the center. "Now stand back, this could take someone's head off if they get too close."

Naruto nods, taking a step back as I raise the shuriken almost to eye level. I take a deep breath, breathing out on the shuriken as I infuse the air with chakra, spinning the metal star quickly as wind starts to whir around it. I edge it away from my body as the rotations pick up speed, creating a shimmering, whistling disk of lethal wind chakra.

Looking around the grassy crater, I target a tall, earthen spike near the waterfall. "Watch this!" I hurl the spinning, whistling shuriken at the pillar, and it races through the air almost faster than the eye can see, spinning like a saw blade.

It cleaves right through the stone pillar, splitting it in half as the shuriken continues its path through the air, spinning over itself as it races towards the green wall of the depression, embedding itself deep in the side, too deep to retrieve without ripping apart all of the rocks around it.

Naruto gapes at the sight. "I totally forgot how cool that is."

"Yeah, wind-powered shuriken are pretty fun to use." I draw Shisui's tanto from its sheath, running wind chakra finely along the blade, before plunging it straight down into the ground, cutting through the rock and dirt like butter. "If you want deadly and destructive with equal parts wild and refined, wind is the way to go." I can't help but smirk, though. "It figures you'd be a wind type, though. You're…a free spirit. You like to do things your way, with freedom and creativity, even if it might not be the smartest plan."

"Yeah, no kidding." I can feel Sakura rolling her eyes behind me. "Talk about always charging in with no plan."

I pull the tanto out of the ground in a single smooth movement, re-sheathing it with another. "I didn't say anything about charging in with no plan. I'm the same way, I just like to make my plans on the fly."

"Yeah…you might want to tone down on that a little." Kakashi coughs pointedly. "Anyway. Ciara, could you cut the waterfall please?"

I raise an eyebrow, before glancing at the waterfall streaming down the cliffs that hide the rest of the large lake from sight. It's that lake, with all of the rain it gets, as well as this waterfall and river that supplies one of the rivers that runs through the village. "Horizontally or vertically? And I assume you just mean the water itself." Because I'm not going to destroy the waterfall just to prove a point. That would throw off a whole ecosystem.

He nods. "That was the idea. Horizontally please."

"Alright." He must mean it as another demonstration for Naruto, so I'll humor him. I pull out Itachi's tanto this time, infusing it with a burst of chakra, before slashing it through the air and slamming a blade of wind straight into the powerful current. It splits cleanly in half for just a second, the bottom half of the waterfall falling away as the upper half slows for just an instant, creating an even divide the whole way across. "There, a split waterfall."

"Whoa…" Naruto stares at it like it's some kind of alien. "That's awesome…"

"And that…" Kakashi gestures to the waterfall. "Is going to be your next lesson. Splitting a waterfall with wind chakra."

Naruto blinks. "Huh!? But how am I supposed to do that!?"

"Press your hands to the waterfall and cut the flow by slamming it with wind chakra." Surprisingly, it's Yamato who answers. "You'll need a large amount of change in chakra nature, as the lady demonstrated." He turns to me as I roll my eyes. "Do you mind if I add a little to the landscape?"

"Go ahead." Why would it both me? This landscape gets changed every time the training ground gets used. "If you need any help, just ask, I have some techniques meant for changing terrain."

Yamato shakes his head. "I can handle it." He presses his hands together as the ground starts to rumble. It's wood style again, it has to be, considering that there are trees growing out of the cliff-side, forming a bridge across the waterfall.

I can see where this is going. "Gonna have him stand up there and try t cut the waterfall that way?"

"That's right. But with one catch." Kakashi catches my interest in a second. "We do the training with shadow clones so that Naruto can accumulate a greater amount of experience over a shorter period of time."

I raise an eyebrow at that. "Well, I guess that's one way to get it done." I'd never be able to pull that off. Mostly because my chakra resists splitting off that way to begin with. "How fast is it working?"

"He started cutting a leaf within three hours." Kakashi's assertion astonishes me. Three hours to go from zero to cutting up leaves? Even just a little? That's almost as fast as me, with a predisposition for ninjutsu, and a strong affinity for wind nature, not to mention a then silent teacher pushing me along.

I whistle lowly. "Well, that's definitely impressive. Want me to help him along once he's got the basics down?" There's only so much that can be done when teaching someone the basics, at a certain point, they just have to be able to get it by themselves. Naruto especially works like that. Once he's got it, he's got it, and it becomes instinctual. Until then…well, it's mostly just grinding through an experiential lesson.

"I think that turning things over to you after he masters the basics would be a good idea." Kakashi smiles under the mask as Naruto starts stripping down to his shorts. "And with both you and Yamato here, we shouldn't have to worry about any…complications."

"Complications like the fox trying to go on a rampage, again…" I hate having to use suppression techniques on Naruto, but in a physical confrontation, not even Jiraiya can go toe to toe with him without trying to kill him once he hits the fourth tail. "Yeah, I'll keep an eye on things. It'll give me time to practice a few things." Namely, something that I've never seen written down anywhere. How to expel my spirit from my body.

Sakura approaches from behind me, tapping me on the shoulder. "Hey, do you mind if I head back down to the market, and come back up here to use your kitchen?"

"My kitchen?" I don't really know what she wants with it, unless she's planning on making lunch. "Sure, go ahead. Just clean up whatever you make dirty. You can use any of the food in the cupboards, and if there's anything in the gardens you want, go ahead and pick it."

"Oh, that's right, lunch!" Sakura really makes me wonder sometimes just what's going on in her head. "Sai, do you think your arm is feeling well enough to cook lunch!?"

That's right, his arm was injured. "Well…" He looks it over carefully. "I should be able to function well enough to make something."

"Here, let me see." I beckon him over, waiting for him to approach me before taking his arm in my hands. "Wow…you really messed it up, didn't you?" I can still feel the healing bone in his arm. It's getting stronger, but it still needs a bit of a push. "Let me just…" My hands glow a white-gold color. Suzaku must be helping again.

Sai stares at my hands as I tend to the almost healed injury. "I have never seen chakra that color before."

I nod at the remark. "Well, the white chakra is mine, and the red, orange, and gold chakra is Suzaku's. When they mix together, depending on the concentrations, we can get everything from a pale gold to a burning red. The light gold means that he's helping me to heal you."

"That's right…you're a jinchuuriki like Naruto." Sakura bites her lip. "Aren't you being reckless, using the demon's power so much?"

I increase the chakra flow, healing Sai's arm a bit faster. "Maybe, but don't worry. Suzaku does his best to protect me from his power. It's too much for me right now, but I'm getting stronger. And the stronger I get, the more of his power I'll be able to handle." And the closer I'll get to being able to use my own power to the fullest. "There, you should be able to use it normally now. Just don't let it take any hard impacts for a few more days, and you should be fine to fight again by the end of the week."

He pulls his arm back, blinking at the results. "You are a talented medic." Straight to the point, it seems.

Still, I smile. "Well, I've been practicing since before I even got out of the academy, so I've been doing it a while. And it's one of Suzaku's specialties, so he helped to train me in healing. He trains me in a lot of things, actually. More stuff than Jiraiya got around to teaching me." Which reminds me… "Hey Kakashi, one of these days, I need you to sit down with me and help me refine my lightning control. Jiraiya and the toads…aren't the greatest teachers of lightning style techniques…"

Kakashi glances up from his book for half a second. "Alright. We can get started on that whenever you're ready." Well, that was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I thought he'd tell me that there was nothing he could teach me, and that I had to work out the fine-tuning on my own. I mean, I was never his student, and I'm a jounin too. So it wouldn't be too unreasonable for him to politely refuse.

"Well, if that's everything…" Sakura grabs Sai by his good arm. "Come on, let's go shopping! If we hurry, we can make a late lunch for everyone."

"Ah! Sakura, don't pull me-" Sai Sai protests only a little as Sakura drags him off towards the path back up the cliffs towards the house.

My eyes keep track of the two until they vanish completely from sight. "…Well, that's an interesting new addition to the team." I'm not sure what it is about Naruto, but he seems to attract a lot of very weird people to his side. Myself included.

"Yes, Sai is rather…unique." Kakashi snaps his book shut as he joins me in the middle of a smaller crater within the large one. "Now, what exactly were you hoping to have me help you with?"

I grin, pulling the tie from my hair and running a hand through it to remove the braid that twirls around my hairline. Little sparks of lightning run through my hair as my chakra switches natures. "As you can see, my lightning is still a little wild. I use my water style ninjutsu to control the lightning, but it would be nice to have enough control over it to be able to use it on its own."

Kakashi's visible eye widens. "You've already achieved a high level of lightning control already, from the looks of it. I've never seen it do that before." He goes to touch some of the electrified brown strands, only to pull his fingers back as he gets a good shock. "How have you managed that?"

I run my fingers through my hair slowly. "Every time I wash my hair, I run chakra through it. I've been doing it a few years. I got the idea from Ino during the Chunin Exams a few years back. Running chakra through hair. I've been treating it this way so long that now, chakra can run through it root to tip with no effort." I take one of the tanto and press it hard against my hair. "Makes it almost impossible to cut, too. And as you just saw, I you try to grab it…"

"You end up shocked by lightning." Kakashi nods approvingly. "It's like indestructible chakra wires. Turning a potential weakness into a tempting trap. You could immobilize an opponent using their hair, but in your case if someone were to grab it…"

"They would put themselves at point blank range for an attack. I can run lightning, fire, and wind chakra through my hair." Well, I can run the other two types through my hair as well, but they don't do much in comparison. No one expects hair to be able to stun you with an electric shock. "But as you can see, it's a very wild application of the chakra. If it's possible, I'd like to be able to sharpen the control. After all, I do use blades." I spin the sword around, running lightning along it as it sparks wildly in all directions. "See? Still more like a lightning storm than a lightning blade. So…can you help me?"

Kakashi watches the lightning, almost transfixed. "Yes, but it won't be easy."

"Since when is anything ever easy?" I look up at Naruto and his dozens of shadows clones. So far, I would say that easy would be a rather nice change of pace. "I'm willing to put in the effort if you're willing to tell me what I'm doing right, what I'm doing wrong, and maybe give me some pointers as to how to do it right."

"Alright, fine." Kakashi holds out his hand, pulling his chakra into his palm to produce a Chidori. "As you can see, my style is a little on the wild side as well, however, what you seem to want is to be able to focus and compress the power." He makes the bundle of lightning in his hand smaller, almost…denser.

Still, that's what I was hoping not to hear. I'm not very good at compressing things, I'm better at unleashing them in all directions. What I compress the most are the jutsu that come out of my mouth, and there, it's easier, because there's a physical container to help compress it. My mouth. "That's…not going to be easy."

"I told you that it wouldn't." Kakashi chuckles. "I know that your style involves more decompression, but just…try to gather all of the lightning in one place and hold it there. You're able to use lightning needles, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah, but then they have a habit of exploding on contact." Not that I can complain about that. It makes dispatching zombies a whole lot easier. "I mean, water is a convenient way to control lightning, but it's not easy to apply that to a blade or a shuriken. It just…doesn't work properly." And I would know, I've tried. Luckily, I tried it on kunai instead of the tanto. I didn't want to risk ruining the keepsakes from Shisui and Itachi.

"I see…" Kakashi scrutinizes the blade. "Why not try compressing it with your wind blades. Wind and lightning are both piercing elements, so they would work well together when applied to a weapon. I think."

Well, I can't say that I've tried the combination before, but there's no way I'm going to risk Shisui's sword testing out a theory. "Okay, then on kunai first."

As I switch out the blade for a couple of kunai, Kakashi uncovers his Sharingan, taking a few steps back. "I'll watch from here. And if something goes wrong, I might be able to catch it and tell you where the error was."

"Okay…" Well that makes me nervous. Not that there's anything to do about it but try it out. "Don't blame me if I accidentally kill you." After all, combining two dangerous elements was his idea in the first place. And he's training Naruto for heavens' sake. He should be well used to danger by now.

"Right, right, now go on and try it." He's way too laid back for this. Sometimes, I wonder how Sasuke learned anything from him.

Still, I hold the two kunai comfortably in my hands, focusing my chakra into them. First, the more stable, but sharp wind chakra. The blades start to whistle and hum as the air currents around them speed up, and the metal starts to vibrate. Then, ever so slowly, I start to leak lightning chakra into the mix, the chakra around the blades growing brighter and brighter as the lightning mixes into the wind, the whistle and hum growing louder as the undertones of a screech and buzz join the mix.

I should have seen it coming, and actually, I kind of did. The two kunai vibrate violently, growing brighter and brighter in my hands even without me increasing the amount of chakra I'm using. And in an instant, they both shatter, pieces of sharp metal slamming into the dirt, a dozen tiny pieces embedding themselves in my skin, and the small explosion that the two of them decidedly to spontaneously undergo burns the palms of my hands.

Hissing, I drop the smoking remains of the two kunai. "Damn it!" I shake my hands out, trying to will away the stinging. Luckily, Suzaku is already at work, his chakra pushing the metal fragments out of my skin, and sealing up the cuts, as well as healing over the burns on my hands.

Kakashi hums quietly. "You definitely have some trouble with compression."

"No, really?" I roll my eyes as the stinging lessens. "Surprisingly, Naruto is the one better at compression. I'm better at mass destruction than he is. Well, usually…" But counting the incidents with the fox's chakra running wild aren't really fair comparisons. Those weren't Naruto, and they certainly weren't on purpose.

"So it seems…" Kakashi's eyes narrow. "Why don't you try adjusting the wind to lightning ratio, and add only a little lightning instead of trying to add an equal amount. Wind dissipates naturally into the air, but lightning doesn't have as many places to go. So adding only a little of it should give the same amount of power as a lot of wind chakra. At least, in a more compressed form."

"Right…" I take out another kunai one my palms are healed, turning it over as I slowly start the exercise again. "I guess it's just trial and error until I hit the right ratio, then."

"You could look at it that way. Just remember to compress it, like wrapping a sheath around the blade." Now that's some good advice from Kakashi, comparing it to a sheath. That…might just be doable.

My eyes drift down to the kunai, and I take a deep breath, focusing hard as I imagine a sheath. A sheath, meant to protect the blade from damage. A guard that, in this case, is meant to be an even more deadly weapon than the blade itself.

Well, Naruto is going to be working on his assignment for a few hours at least. He's just got that much stamina. So, I might as well follow suit. "Let's do this."

* * *

Sakura's P.O.V.

Best. Kitchen. Ever. Ciara's kitchen has EVERYTHING in it. Well, not food-wise, but in appliances. _I thought she lived in that tiny apartment since she arrived at the academy when we were kids? So how does she have all the latest kitchen equipment?_

Oh, right, she's rich. I keep forgetting that part. I mean, I've met some wealthy people, and they definitely don't act like her. _Then again…maybe it's because she's been on her own for so long…_

I put down the giant food pill in my hands, staring at the growing pile. _I can't believe she lives alone in this place… A clan estate this size should have dozens…no, hundreds of people here. Just what happened to this place?_

"Sakura, are you alright?" Sai's voice snaps me out of it as much as his hand on my shoulder. "You look a little pale. My book says that when someone looks pale, it means they could be scared or sick."

"Ah, no, I'm fine." I didn't mean to let that show on my face. "I was just…thinking about how no one but Ciara lives here. It's sad."

"Oh, I see." Sai goes back to putting the sandwiches and rice balls together. "Yes, it is rather strange. Her clan is almost extinct, isn't that it?"

I nod. "Yeah, but I have no idea why. Whatever happened…Ciara doesn't talk about it." And I doubt that's healthy. She needs to talk to someone about it. Bottling it up is only going to cause her a lot of mental and emotional trauma down the road. "Maybe Naruto knows." After all, those two seem to know almost everything about each other.

It's scary, really, how they seem to act and react so naturally to each other. I don't know if they see it, but the two of them just…it's like they can see into each other's head. If Naruto needs to know something, Ciara seems to be able to explain just right so that he'll get it. _Maybe I should ask her for some tips on how to get information into Naruto's thick head._ Then again, she does seem to like combining it with a practical demonstration. So maybe that's the key to it all.

And then there's how the two of them were with Gaara. Maybe it's because all three of them are, or were in Gaara's case, jinchuuriki. _Could that be why they're so attached to each other?_ After all, their grief was definitely something I never want to see again.

Despite that, it kind of makes me want to see the two of them fight together, side by side, just to see what would happen. How would they fight? Would they do it together? Separate? Would they be able to read each other's mind like I used to see Naruto and Sasuke do? It seems like they would have a strong enough connection for that.

I reach into the bowl of paste, forming another pill. _Oh well. For now, I'll do what I can to make sure those two don't drop from exhaustion. Because if Naruto's bad habits have rubbed off on her in the last few years, then she's definitely going to push herself too hard as well._ It's almost enough to make me laugh. _Maybe we should plan a sleepover at this rate. A training camp, or something._

"Sakura?" Sai pulls me out of my thoughts yet again. "Why are you smiling?"

"Huh?" I hadn't realized that I was smiling at all. "Oh, it's nothing. Let's get the food and pills ready for those two. They're going to need them if they're going to be training all day." _And probably tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that… Those two are going to push themselves so hard that their bodies will give out. Even if Ciara's demon is a nice one that tries to protect her, instead of trying to take her over like Naruto's._

And that begs a bundle of new questions. _Why is hers so different to Naruto's and Gaara's? Is it a black sheep of the bunch? Or are those two the black sheep instead? Is there a rule? Or is it more of a spectrum? Is it just like human personalities, where some people are good, and other people are bad, and most people are just somewhere in between? Does the whole being a dragon thing have something to do with it?_

So many questions…and I have no answers.


	18. Bonds and Trust

**Sorry for taking so long, been working on Secrets of Avalon all day every day with SilverKitsune2017 (when I'm not busy babysitting a toddler for a friend). And before that, we were working on She Deserves Better, a couple of M-rated SasuHina collabs.**

 **And hello Chaos, I missed you! And as for your theories…have you been reading my mind or something, because a few of the things there…seriously, you're good. It's almost scary, really, sometimes you just get things spot on.**

 **Timeskips in this one, but that kind of happens during training stints.**

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

It's dark out, but I can still watch as Kakashi flips through a book that isn't his usual book. And I would know, I know all of the covers of Jiraiya's books. I've read his manuscripts enough times to become intimately familiar with the erotica he writes. Covers included. It's more familiar than I ever wanted to be with erotic literature, but…at least he has some good ideas in it. Just…maybe for future reference.

Close by, Naruto is supposed to be sleeping, recovering from his liberal use of Shadow Clones earlier. Instead, he's still wide awake, just lying there, trying to focus on something. I know that because he's done it before. Some nights, when we were traveling with Jiraiya, he just couldn't sleep. Anxiety, I would guess. Not that the two of us don't have plenty to be anxious about.

"Ciara?" Kakashi's voice draws my attention as he looks up from his book. "What are your dreams?"

I blink slowly at him. "My dreams?" _Where the hell did that kind of question come from?_

He nods, waving the book around a bit. "What do you dream of doing in the future?"

"In the future…?" I look back up at the stars, the question feeling…distant. "I don't…know?" It's a weird question to ask me. "Well, I mean, my goal is to protect the people around me, and I guess to join the ANBU when Naruto becomes Hokage so I can keep protecting him."

Kakashi is silent as he, presumably, takes in my answer. "Alright…but how about for yourself? After all, Naruto wants to become Hokage. I've heard Sakura talk about taking over as the hospital's head medic. Most young ninja dream of being the most powerful ninja alive, whether that's a realistic goal or not. So…? How about you?"

Nothing comes to mind, beyond my duty of protecting the people around me, but that's a drive, a duty, not a dream. That strikes me as a little strange, but I brush the thought aside. "Does it matter? I'm focusing on what I can do in the present. Plans for the future…dreams…whatever you want to call them, those can wait." They can wait until I know that Naruto and I actually have a future beyond having our Tailed Beasts sucked out by the Akatsuki.

Kakashi goes quiet for a minute. "…No childhood dreams? Something unrealistic? A fantasy?"

"No…?" I turn over, glaring at him slightly. "What's with all of the questions? Who cares if I don't have any crazy dreams? Not everyone does."

"I see." Something about Kakashi's expression almost…saddens? It's strange. What's stranger is that he starts writing in that book in his hands. Maybe it's some ind of journal, or a personal book of his, otherwise someone isn't going to be happy that he wrote in it.

Frustrated, Naruto sits up all of a sudden, staring down at me. "Those are some weird questions, but it doesn't matter, right? Like you said, when I'm Hokage, you're gonna be one of my ANBU!"

"Of course." I sit up, sleep evading me for now. "That's a given, isn't it? We have to stick together, and if going for ANBU is what it'll take…well, I'm already a jounin, so I'm not that far away from it, I've got plenty of time before you become Hokage to make ANBU."

"Great!" Naruto jumps to his feet. "Then if we can't sleep, let's get back to training! We're never gonna make it that far if we don't get stronger!"

Yamato groans as he turns over. "Give it a rest, you two. I can't keep suppressing the Nine-Tails' chakra indefinitely, I need to rest."

"It's okay." I sigh, shaking my head. "You two go to sleep, I'll stay up with Naruto." I glance at the newest captain of Team Seven. "No offense, but I think I'm just as good, maybe better than you at suppressing the fox's power. I don't have to fear the damage from its chakra like you do. I can get up close and personal if need be. So you take a long breather, I can handle Naruto's enthusiasm." I get to my feet and stretch as Naruto pulls off his clothes. "After all, I was in charge of suppressing it while we were with the old pervert. It's one of the things he trained into me."

Still, it's probably best, as Naruto races off towards the waterfall, for me to make a clone to spar with and go through some of the old exercises that Neji taught me. Which reminds me, I need to ambush Neji one of these days and drag him off to spar with me. Sparring against myself will only get me so far, and sparring against Naruto is only good for either destroying the entire immediate area, or working to a stalemate.

I turn to the two captains, waving towards the dying fire. "You two stay here and rest, I'll make sure that he doesn't get too loud." It'll be difficult, but it's not the first time we've done our training more quietly. After all, we weren't always in the most welcoming places while traveling with Jiraiya.

"Alright, if you're sure…" Kakashi lies down on one side of the fire while Yamato dozes on the other side, already falling back asleep. It's not their fault, of course, they just don't have the stamina needed to keep up with Naruto. Hell, I don't have it either, unless I'm not using much chakra at all. It's a delicate balance between doing my own training, and working in order to keep up with Naruto. Which, I suppose in itself is a kind of training too.

Nevertheless, I approach the waterfall and make a clone, looking briefly as Naruto makes several dozen of them across the waterfall. It's going to be a long night.

* * *

Sakura's P.O.V.

I swear…those two just don't know when to quit. If I know Naruto, then he probably didn't sleep last night. He's the type to stay up all night long, training until he drops. And knowing Ciara as well as I do, she probably stayed up with him to make sure he didn't have any accidents.

Looking down at the food pills in my basket, I sigh. _Are these going to be enough for those two? They burn chakra faster than anyone else in the village. If it weren't for the fact that they're both jinchuuriki, they would have dropped after a few hours, especially Naruto…_

It doesn't take me too long to climb down the cliffs from Ciara's house to where the waterfall and meadow are. As expected, Naruto is still at it with his clones. In fact, he looks downright energetic. _Maybe he didn't stay up all night._

I smile at the sight. "Look at that, I guess he's doing alright. He might not need my food pills after all, huh…?" It's too bad, I made them with those two in mind.

"Don't be so sure." I nearly jump at the sound of Sai's voice behind me.

And as I turn, there he is. "Oh, Sai, I didn't even see you. How long have you been there?" I don't think I saw him in the mansion this morning when I got up to make the pills in Ciara's kitchen.

He blinks. "Before you got here. Didn't you notice?"

My eyes widen. "You're kidding." I can't believe that I walked right past him and didn't even sense his presence at all. It's weird. "I had no idea. I swear, it's like you're invisible."

"Oh, uh, well…" Oh no, I've made him feel awkward. "I'm sorry." He recovers quickly enough, though, so it looks like there's nothing to worry about. "Like I was saying, though, he's certainly got his work cut out for him. From what I've observed so far, Naruto hasn't much skill. Yet, her has to sustain absolute focus while using shadow clones to his limit. It really is amazing. The degree of fatigue must be extraordinary compared to that or normal training."

"Yeah, you're right." I cast my eyes towards Naruto, watching all of the clones, and the original, equally hard at work trying to master this change in chakra nature. It looks difficult. _I wonder if it's as difficult as learning medical ninjutsu._

"And over there…" He points towards a lump on the ground, huddled under a blanket. And judging by the curling locks of chocolate colored hair spread across the ground, it's definitely Ciara. "It seems that she was up the entire night, training with Naruto. She has great skill, however…she lacks Naruto's stamina."

That makes me laugh. "No one has Naruto's stamina. But Ciara sure makes for it when she's adding a new jutsu to her repertoire every chance she gets. I can't believe she can already use all five natures." It's incredible, really, and she's a year younger than I am. Barely fifteen, and already so strong.

"She's very strong." Sai's eyes are fixed on her, observing her as she sleeps. "She is from an old clan, isn't she? It's why this mountain belongs to her."

"That's right." Though I've only heard bits here and there about it. "She was a clan princess, so have some respect and don't peep at her while she's sleeping." I stick my tongue out at him, not actually expecting him to be that creepy. He's not Jiraiya, or Captain Yamato.

"No, I didn't mean…" He shakes his head. "I only meant…if she's from an old clan, then wouldn't that mean that there are jutsu and abilities unique to her? Shouldn't she be learning those instead of focusing on Naruto so much?"

I blink quickly. Sai's got a point there, rather than focusing on Naruto, she should be making herself stronger too. "You're right. There's got to be something we can do to help her. Maybe…if her family has a library, then we might be able to find something worth looking at in there."

"Yes, I agree." Sai looks back towards the house. "There isn't much time to waste."

"Right!" I place my basket of food pills on the stump for them, sticking a letter in it for the to read later. "Come on, Sai, let's go!" I grab his arm, pulling him back towards the cliffs. "We've got a palace to explore and a library to find!"

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

I yawn as I walk back into my house. It's been…what, four, five, maybe six days since we've been camped out at the waterfall? Longer? It's hard to keep track when Naruto insists on training at all hours, and I barely have time to get any sleep.

Pushing the door open, I step inside and shake my head. Sleep is going to have to wait. For now, I need to get into the library and do some research. Training lightning style is all well and good, but it would be better if I had something to channel that training into. And my family is sure to have a ninjutsu compendium lying around somewhere. I just need to find it first.

"Ciara?" Sakura pokes her head out of the living room. I honestly hadn't expected her to stick around so long, not that she's unwelcome here, I just thought that she'd get bored eventually.

"Yeah, I'm here." I blink at her, my vision a little blurrier than I'd like. "You're still here?"

She pauses. "Do you not want me here?"

I shake my head. "It's not that, I just imagined that you would get bored eventually. I mean, it's not like there's a whole lot to do around here."

Her expression brightens instantly. "Oh, so that's it. Don't worry about me, this estate is huge! There's plenty of things to do while you and Naruto are off training from dawn until dusk."

Well, I suppose she has a point with regards to the size of the estate. "Then what have you been up to this whole time?"

"Ah…well…" She glances to the side, looking a bit uncomfortable. "I hope that you don't mind, but I kinda went into a lot of the rooms. I was curious about them, so…"

Curiosity, that makes sense. "It's fine." It's not like I have anything to hide. At least, nothing that she can access, anyway. "Find anything interesting?" It's been a long time since I went into most of the rooms, so maybe she uncovered something I haven't seen before. I was only five when that night happened…

Seeing that I'm not angry with her, Sakura smiles. "Actually, yeah! I found a ton of old clothes in this huge closet down the hall. It wasn't attached to any of the bedrooms, so I thought I'd go through it and see if I could find anything nice!" She frowns. "Well, frankly it's all nice, but I meant something that would suit you or me! They're so exotic, like costumes!"

I nod slowly, remembering the family wardrobe. "You seem pretty excited. Does that mean that you found something? If you like a few things, you can have them. Well, as long as they're not the special pieces." It's not like I could possibly wear every piece of clothing in the house. Besides, whatever fits Sakura wouldn't fit me. I'm taller than her, and have a bigger bust size. And the special pieces…well, those are special for a reason.

"Really!?" Sakura races back into the living room, prompting me to follow as she holds up a long white dress. "Because I think this would make a beautiful wedding dress!"

I blink at it, before covering my mouth with one hand to try and stop my snickering. The lacy, silky white gown is hardly something for a wedding. "Sakura, that's a winter nightgown. It gets cold up here during the winter." We are, after all, on top of a mountain.

She freezes, her face turning as pink as her hair. "This is a nightgown!?"

"Yes, it is." Though I suppose that it must look rather luxurious in comparison to normal nightgowns. It's just that it was designed to be both beautiful and functional. A piece of art with a practical application. "In all those old stories, isn't it made pretty clear that dragons love beautiful things? Gold, jewels…" I motion to the gown as well. "And silk."

Sakura stares in awe at the nightgown. "If this is for sleeping in, then what do the women of your clan get married in!?"

I can't say that I expected that question, but I'm not entirely surprised by it. "Well…" I cast my eyes around the many racks of clothes that she wheeled out of the massive wardrobe. "The last time I saw a wedding dress like that, I was about three years old." But it was pretty distinctive, so I should be able to pick it out of the selection fairly easily. "Ah!"

The gown I go for is a floor-length, silky white dress with long sleeves, and a sleeveless scarlet qi-pao, all embroidered with gold and with a high collar. There's jewelry to go with it, but I doubt that Sakura thought to look for it. It's a little more well hidden than the clothes. But the golden sashes of the dress adorn it as well as any jewels.

"Wow…is that a traditional wedding dress in your clan?" Sakura's eyes widen at the dress in my hands."It's beautiful…"

"Yes, it is…" To both questions. "The last time I saw this worn was when my uncle, Kiyoshi Uchiha, was marrying Auntie Miyako. She wore this dress on her wedding day…" And the memory makes me sad, even though that day was a very happy one. "I guess you could say it's an heirloom dress. It's probably a hundred and fifty years old, maybe older." And I have to give my ancestors this much, they had great taste in clothes. Even today, it's still stylish and beautiful. Tough as well, considering that the moths haven't gotten to anything.

"Wow…" Sakura touches the silk gingerly. "This has got to be the most incredible wedding dress I've ever seen. Modern or traditional."

"Yeah…" I fold the dress up carefully, setting it down on one of the couches. "If you want the nightgown, you can have it." I scrutinize the piece of clothing once more. "It looks like it might be a bit small for me. Besides, I'm not overly fond of lace. Silk is fine, but lace itches."

"Really!?" Seems like she only heard the part where I offered her the gown. "Thank you!" She nearly jumps me, squeezing me tight in a monster's grip.

"No problem…?" I return the hug, smiling slightly. "I think it belonged to a cousin of mine. Not sure which, though." At its peak, there was probably forty people living in this house alone, and half of those were women, so it could have been anyone's really. And that's just assuming that it's not an older piece. In which case it could belong to any of dozens, or even hundreds of old clan members.

Movement in the corner of the room catches my eye, and I notice Sai standing up, a sketchbook in hand. "Your home is quite difficult to draw. The intricacy of the landscape is quite impressive."

"Thank you." I'm pretty sure he meant that as a compliment, so that's how I'm going to take it. "Once you're done, I'd like to see the pictures, if that's alright."

He nods, approaching the two of us. "You have returned. I thought that you and Naruto were going to continue training." Sai appears a little confused. "Has that changed?"

I shake my head. "No, it hasn't. I just came back to go through the library, and then to get some sleep in my own bed. Naruto has a bad habit of getting up to train in the middle of the night. He makes it hard to get enough sleep, since not all of us are gifted with his stamina."

"The library?" Sakura blinks. "Where is your library, anyway? We looked for it, but couldn't find it."

That hardly surprises me. "Of course you didn't. Clans usually guard their libraries closely." And even though I was little, I still knew, even then, how important the library was. "It's probably locked."

"Locked?" She tilts her head, observing me quizzically. "I guess that makes sense. But who locked it?"

I shrug. "Dunno, maybe Dad before he died, or one of my aunts or uncles. But if you couldn't get in, or even find it, that's probably why." Looking to the hallway, I motion for Sakura to follow me. "Come on, I'll show you where it is."

"Really!?" She nearly throws the nightgown as she set it down and follows me into the hallway. "I've never seen a clan library before. Is it like the one in the Hokage's tower?"

"Not quite…" It may have been a long time ago, but I still remember Dad bringing me into the library a few times. "It's a whole lot bigger. But then again, I'm pretty sure that we have texts dating back to a couple thousand years ago." I glance back at the astonished look on her face. "We've had a very long time here to collect books and scrolls."

"No kidding…" Her eyes widen further as we run into Sai right in front of the giant doors that lead to the library. "Hey Sai what are you doing here?"

The artist turns to us, his face mostly blank, but furrowed slightly with confusion. "I found these door, but they refuse to open."

Well of course they haven't, not that either of them would have any idea why. "That's because you haven't offered them a blood sacrifice."

Predictably, Sakura freezes in her tracks. "A sacrifice!? Why does a door need a sacrifice!?"

Sai glances warily at the door. "I this a usual custom for your clan?"

"Yes, it is." I smirk and shake my head. "But it's not what either of you are thinking. "It won't accept just any blood." I examine the door, finding the blood seal that Dad showed me when I was little to be perfectly intact. "It needs the blood of a dragon."

Placing my hand against a depression in the large circle in the middle of the doors, I feel small, sharp spikes against my palm. Pressing my hand against them, I feel them pierce my skin, and warm blood drips down the door and into the crevices. Small pockets catch the blood, and the seal shines brightly as I apply my chakra to it, characters appearing all over the doors as it unlocks.

Pulling my hand back, I gather chakra in my other hand and begin healing the injury. "There, it's done." I nudge the doors open with my foot, revealing an enormous room beyond them, both extending up three stories, and sinking down two stories into the ground. A staircase leads down from the door to the ground floor, and another staircase, a twisting golden spiral, extends up to the walkways and balconies of the upper floors.

"Wow…" Sakura walks beside me, taking in the sight of the ancient library. "This place is incredible!"

"You're right, it is…" Sai appears just as impressed by the size of the room. Well, if you can even call it a room. It's almost an entire building just by itself, hidden within the depths of the main house. Okay, maybe not hidden, not usually anyway.

"Okay!" Sakura claps her hands together. "Where's the section about your clan?"

Frowning at her, I tilt my head in confusion. "Why do you want to know where that is?" Not that I mind, it just seems like a rather odd place for her to want to start exploring.

She smiles widely at me. "Well, if you're going to get stronger, then isn't it better that we know as much about your clan and their abilities as possible so that we can help you?"

It's a good point, I have to admit that much. "Okay, I see your point. There's just one problem…" I look out at the many shelves pressed against the walls, racks and cubbies piled high with scrolls, and even a few still laid out on the desks scattered around the large, open space in the center of the bottom floor. "The last time I was in here, I was five years old. So I actually have no clue where to even start looking for the materials regarding my clan's bloodline abilities, or our special ninjutsu scrolls."

"I see…" Sai walks ahead his eyes flicking around to the many shelves. "If you'll allow me…I would like to help you in your search."

I bite my lip, watching Naruto's new teammate warily as I lean towards Sakura. "…I hate to ask…but can I trust him?" Letting him see the library is one thing, letting him rummage through carefully guarded scrolls and books is another.

She blinks, staring at Sai for several long moments, before smiling. "Yeah, you can trust him. He's a good guy. He's just socially awkward right now."

"Okay." I lean away from Sakura, nodding as I smile at Sai. "Alright, you can help us look. You'll probably find a lot of history books before you manage to pull out anything particularly interesting, but if you're okay with that, then have at it."

Sai nods to me, pointing at one of the bookshelves. "Then I will begin here, if that's alright with you."

"That's fine." I head towards one of the cubby towers filled with scrolls, yellowed with age. "Probably best if we divide and conquer, anyway. I'll start here." I pick a couple of the scrolls from the carved holes, slowly adding to the growing pile in my arms. I never thought that rolled paper would weigh so much.

Sakura weaves her way further into the library, finding a bookcase of her own to start rummaging through. "I'll let you guys know if I find anything!" She pulls a couple of books from the shelves, sitting down to hold them in her lap as she begins to flip through them, Sai doing much the same only thirty feet away.

"Good, then let's get to it." I carry the pile of scrolls over to one of the desks. "We've got some studying to do." And it's going to be a lot harder than anything we learned in the academy. In fact, it's not even going to compare.


	19. A Crying Sky

**Sorry for taking so long to update, I got caught up in M-rated collabs, and then I ended up catching a nasty cold from my mother, and...lots of other stuff going on as well, including hours upon hours of cleaning everything within sight (in fact, it's kind of amazing that I can write at all right now, after my date with pyrex pans and steel wool). Anyway, this is something of a background/exploration chapter, and I hope that it answers a few questions before we ramp things up in the next few chapters.**

 **Anyway, to answer the reviews...yes, her clothes have some Chinese influence seeing as they're based a bit off of Chinese qi-pao. There's also quite a bit of ancient world influence, with the fluttery, airy fabrics of the sleeves and inner layers of the dress (think the Hittite clothes from Red River/Anatolia Story), and there's of course a Japanese twist with the various sashes that hold things together/tighten them.**

* * *

Sakura's P.O.V.

I know that Naruto has inhuman stamina. He can go way longer than anyone else, undergo more strenuous training than any person should be able to endure. Ciara…is not like that. She's strong, sure, but she's not invincible. Neither of them are, but Ciara especially is pushing herself too hard for it to be healthy.

"You know, you should really take a break." Naruto is definitely rubbing off on her a bit too much. She has to accept that she doesn't have his stamina. It would be better for her if she stopped believing that she can read scrolls for three days straight without collapsing. Even Sai and I have taken breaks to eat and sleep. "It's not good for you to stay up so long."

"I'm okay." The bags under Ciara's eyes say otherwise. Then, she winces, rubbing stiff fists over tired eyes. "Damn it…I don't need to sleep, you old pile of feathers." Even while this exhausted, she's still insisting on being stubborn.

 _Uh oh, if even the demon inside her is telling her to take it easy, then she must be in even worse shape than I thought._ "Come on, Ciara, Sai and I will keep looking. You need to take a breather and get some sleep." _Preferably twenty-four hours worth of it, but that might be hoping for too much._

She cringes, holding her head in her hands. But she's quiet, her face twisted in pain. "Okay okay! Damn it! I get it already!" Whatever her demon is telling her must be pretty convincing. She's almost as stubborn as Naruto. She closes up the scrolls on the table, yawning quietly as she does so. "Wake me up when there's food…"

"Alright." I pat her on the back as she leaves the table behind, disappearing from the library for the first time in days. _What was she working on, anyway?_

Approaching the scrolls, I flick a couple of them open, reading them over. No way… From the looks of it, they detail a kekkai genkai…a bloodline trait like none I've ever see before. "…Soul…of the Dragon?" _Am I reading this right? What kind of ability IS this?_

Maybe…if I find a journal, or a diary, that might clear up some of my confusion. But we've been looking through this place for days, and so far, we've only managed to go through a handful of shelves. There's just too much material here for us to go through in a short period of time.

I need to refine my search. I need to target books and scrolls that look old. Maybe there's more recorded in the older manuscripts, maybe not, but it's worth a shot. Then again, there probably isn't much that ISN'T recorded here. There's just so many books. More that I can possibly hope to go through before she wakes up again.

* * *

Sai's P.O.V.

As Sakura refuses to give up, I endeavor to continue researching as well. There are many books within the library, detailing what appears to be every subject known to humans. And even some philosophical concepts that are…entirely foreign.

One such book intrigues me, bound in weathered leather and crumbling silk ties. It lists many tenets that it seems this clan was supposed to follow. My mouth opens as my eyes latch onto the words. "Life is sacred, and must be treated as such. A life will never replace another, lest the first be sacrificed to preserve or bring forth the other. Only under the most dire of circumstances to protect one's loved ones, or gravest of betrayals should life be taken, and then, only for the good of the many, rather than the satisfaction of the few. The slaughter of innocents, one such betrayal, is intolerable, and punishable by the ancient rites. For one who would willingly commit, condone, or command such a detestable betrayal of their fellows will grow accustomed to the taste of blood, and thus, no longer be capable of any sort of reasoned argument, must be considered a threat to others, and cannot be allowed to continue to exist. Such an action may fall solely to the dragons, who act without hatred, only sadness, and the knowledge of the duty that must be carried out to protect the humans, even from one of their own." It's a rather odd tenet, full of darkness, and yet, a detachment from it.

I turn pages into another chapter, discovering similar passages on the next one, and begin reading aloud once again. "Since the beginning, and unto the end, the sole duty of a dragon is that of protector. To guard treasure against the grasp of those who would take it, those who would harm it. The treasure is all, is everything, and is what matters most. Without the vast treasure of Tenryuusai, a dragon is nothing but a husk, scales and bones, devoid of true life. Glowing brightly, even in the heaviest darkness, a shield, a source of power, the will to make things right. All come from a dragon's treasure, held deep within, and without one's heart." _Treasure? What sort of treasure is this?_

Another turn of the page reveals only more strange riddles. Line after line of riddles and foreign philosophy. _What kind of clan is this…?_

"Sai?" Sakura calls for me, prompting me to lift my head from the book.

"Yes?" I put down the tome, deciding to continue reading it later. "Is something wrong?"

"Maybe…" Sakura bites her lip. "What do you know about dragons?"

"Dragons?" I glance down at the book. "Yes…I have come across the topic in my readings. This book seems to focus greatly on the philosophy of...dragons? It is…mildly disturbing, but unlike anything I have ever seen."

"Really?" Sakura reaches for the book, flipping a few pages as she reads. "Let's see…" He curious expression quickly begins to sink into a frown. "This…is a book on the nature of dragons?"

"It would appear so." Though I'm not entirely sure that what's in the book merits such a frown. "What has you so concerned?" _The creatures are a myth, are they not? What would a book on their philosophy matter?_

She hesitantly flips another page, her frown deepening. "Maybe…maybe I'm just reading into this too much…" She naps the book back together, then motions for me to follow her. "Come on, I think that Lady Tsunade needs to see this book."

I blink at the thought, but follow her from the library. I'm not certain that Ciara would appreciate us taking one of her books. However, if it's to show the Hokage, I can't imagine that she would protest very much.

On the way out, Sakura grabs another book, hesitating over grabbing a scroll, before deciding to take it with us as well. "She'll forgive me…I know she will."

 _Forgive her? Forgive her for what?_ I can't help but wonder if Sakura is doing something that she shouldn't.

* * *

Tsunade's P.O.V.

Akatsuki. Akatsuki. Akatsuki. Reports from so many of the teams, and yet, no sign of the Akatsuki anywhere. _How are we supposed to keep Naruto and Ciara, and the Leaf in general safe from them if we can't find them!?_

"My Lady?" There's a knock on the door, accompanied by Sakura's voice. "May I come in? It's kind of important…"

Sighing I rest my head in my hands and wave at the door. "Come in." I haven't seen much of her at all this past week, and I'm rather curious to find out just what she's been up to.

The door opens, revealing Sakura, and most curiously, Sai as well. "I'm sorry, Lady Tsunade, I know that you're busy right now with the Akatsuki. But I wouldn't bother you if it wasn't something that had me really worried."

Taking note of the very old looking books and scroll in her arms, I beckon her towards my desk. "And what has you so worried?"

"Ciara…" She lays the scroll and book on my desk, flipping one of the books open. "She let us into her family's library, and we've been looking through the books, trying to find things to help keep her safe. And we've found…a couple of rather disturbing books."

"Disturbing, how?" I frown as I begin to read. "A book on philosophy?" It's like nothing I've ever read before. It contains principles on life and death, mercy, justice… "You found this in the Shiryugu library?"

Sai nods. "That's correct. I began reading, but I am not certain that I understood what had been written. The principles and explanations were…foreign to me."

"Yes, I expect that they would be." Because the more my eyes take in, the more concerned I become. While the various principles seem to emphasize mercy, the intertwining of that with dragons concerns me deeply. "Sakura, what else have you brought me?"

She opens the scroll for me, and ice forms in my stomach. "I'm not sure exactly what this technique is about, but I know that I've never seen anything like it."

"Of course you haven't." I wouldn't expect that anyone their age would have any idea just what this scroll describes. "What do you know about dragons?"

Sakura blinks, before frowning slightly. "Uh…they're part of bedtime stories? And…Ciara talks about them a lot. They're all over the place in her house, too. I thought it was supposed to be a temple."

"Yes, you would think that…" I remember thinking the same thing when I was her age. "It is a temple. But at the same time, it isn't." I raise an eyebrow at the two of them. "Do you know the story of how the dragons came to live here?"

"You mean the fairytales?" Sakura nods. "Yeah, my parents told them to me when I was little. The ones about the dragons who fell in love with humans, and gave up their immortality to be with them."

"Indeed they did." And I've been doing a little research in my free time about those stories, finding it a little ironic that they've been relegated to bedtime stories. "You're too young to have see them, but until ten years ago, those stories were more than just bedtime stories. There used to be dragons here in the village, venerated as deities centuries ago. And the place where they used to live is what most people would call the temple at the peak of Mount Tenryuu."

Sakura frowns. "But…that's where Ciara's clan used to live, right?"

"That's right. Because there's one thing that the bedtime stories don't tell you." My eyes fall on the scroll, recognizing the contents. "The stories are true. They're not legends, so much as an oral history, adopted by us as fairytales, fantastic stories to be told to children, but not taken at face value. Whether they were descended from those dragons of myth, the ones revered as deities or not doesn't matter." I close up the book, setting it aside to look at later. "What matters is that There is an ability within the Shiryugu Clan, one that I believe I nearly extinguished. But nonetheless, it has been passed down, according to the record we have found, and what little I knew of the last two clan heads, for thousands of years."

"An ability passed down for thousands of years…" Unfathomable. That's what Sakura's expression tells me. The very thought of such a long legacy is impossible to imagine. "What kind of ability is it?"

"One that I have only seen twice in my entire life, performed by Ciara's grandfather, Daisuke Shiryugu." It was during the Second Great Ninja War, when we were young, and when Daisuke was still a powerful new clan leader, inheriting the position from his mother. "The ability to spill out their spirit and take on the form of a dragon. To bend the world around them to their will without need for the traditional practices of ninjutsu." It was something I only just began to understand by reading my grandfather's journals, and the sparse medical records regarding that clan. And it's taken weeks of searching the archives, the public library, and the private library attached to my office.

Sai tilts his head, as though the boy is confused. But the blank expression on his face puts me off more than just a little. "If that is true, then is it possible that someone saw her clan as a threat, and took measures to eliminate them?"

It's a possibility that has crossed my mind more than once the last few weeks. "It may very well be that that is the case, and that someone took advantage of the clan's more peaceful nature to launch such an attack. You would have been six years old when the tragedy occurred."

"That's awful…" Sakura covers her mouth in horror. "But there wasn't a war going on. Who would have attacked!?"

"I don't know…" And that bothers me more than I care to admit. "But I plan on finding out just that. We have an explanation, however flimsy, for the slaughter of the Uchiha Clan eight years ago, however, there was no identification listed concerning the attack." And that is a situation that I plan to rectify. "For now, thank you for your due diligence. I will add what you have brought me to the compilation of information regarding Ciara's physical, mental, and emotional health." I hand Sakura back the scroll on my desk. "Though I imagine that she will be wanting that back rather soon."

"Yes, My Lady." My student looks ever so sad and guilty as she cradles the large scroll in her arms. Though I can't say that I'm particularly pleased with how this meeting went either. Just for once, I would like to have some good news regarding those two. But it seems that fate is determined to screw them both over whenever and however possible.

"And Sakura…" I sigh, leaning back in my seat. "Keep a very careful eye on her. She may be in danger of hurting herself." At least, if I read into the reports regarding her great-uncle correctly. With every piece of information that emerges about her family, I grow increasingly concerned that she is in fact a bomb just waiting to go off. And most terrifyingly of all, I'm not entirely sure what her blast radius is, or if she has on at all.

"Of course, Lady Tsunade." Sakura nods, pulling on Sai's arm. "Come on, let's go and get lunch ready. They're going to be needing it soon."

"Ah, right." Sai blinks bemusedly as Sakura tugs him out of my office and out of sight.

However, their visit has left me in something of an awkward position. Then again, seeing as no reports are coming in regarding the status of the Akatsuki, I suppose that there's not much else for me to do right now, save for paperwork.

"Shizune!" I reach for the book, flipping it open again to begin reading the first of many chapters.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade?" My ever-loyal assistant pokes her head in almost immediately, her reaction time as quick as ever. "You need something?"

"I do." And I don't like this. It raises more questions than it answers, because what I'm reading just feels so…inhuman. "Get me Shikaku Nara immediately." _After all, according to Ciara, her mother was a Nara. Maybe Shikaku will know more than Shikamaru does about the topic._

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

Am I particularly happy that Sakura and Sai went behind my back and took the scroll I was studying to Tsunade? Not really, no. Am I mad at them? …Also, not really, no. Mostly, I just want to find something that I can hone quickly and build on. Because from the looks of that scroll, I'm pretty sure that it's going to require more time for meditation than I currently have available.

Still, the guilty look on Sakura's face as I roll up the scroll and put it away makes me sigh and relent. "I told you already, it's fine. You didn't steal it, you just borrowed it to show to Tsunade because you're worried about me, I get it." Were our positions reversed, I would likely have done the same thing. "But I promise, I'm fine. I got some sleep, just like you wanted, and I'll get some more sleep later."

"Alright…" Sakura shifts nervously on the balls of her feet. "Are you sure it's okay, though? I just…I wasn't expecting you to wake up so soon, so I thought I'd have it back before…"

"Yes, Sakura, it's fine." I put my hand on her shoulder and smile. "After all, it's not like anyone else can do what's written in that scroll anyway." And that's the sad truth of the matter. "I'm the only one left. The only dragon left in this land, and maybe…in the whole world." Though I sincerely hope not. It would be sad if that was the case.

Sakura's face falls, and even Sai seems a it more quiet than usual. "But…how do you know you're the only one left?"

A painful pang shoots through my heart. "Because we're not immortal. Not anymore." I look towards the doors, mentally retracing the steps towards the family mausoleum, as well as to where the dragons are traditionally buried closer to the actual peak of the mountain. "And the others were killed a long time ago. If it weren't for my uncle and Suzaku, I would have died with them."

Stricken, Sakura reaches for me, wrapping me up in a warm hug. "I'm sorry…I shouldn't have asked something like that."

"It's okay." It's just something that I'm going to have to get used to. Talking about my family, even with them not hear. "Do you…want to hear a story?"

"A story?" Her grip loosens as she looks at me quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"I mean…" I pull myself out of her grip tugging her along towards the small sitting area in the library. "That I want to tell you a story. About how four dragons fell in love…and gathered themselves a horde of treasure to last through the ages." One that seems to have been lost to time as a bedtime story, a myth, a legend. And lost to me as well.

* * *

Getting back to work is not nearly as easy as I hoped it would be. And even relocating to the clan's training room isn't helping much. Well, it's helping to contain the power I'm unleashing, since everything in here is near unbreakable, but control is another story entirely.

"Damn it…" I shake out my hand, my fingers feeling numb as my shuriken drop to the floor, smoking slightly. I would practice this with the short-swords, but I really don't feel like risking destroying the weapons that my uncles gave me just for the sake of trying to develop a technique that might turn out not to work.

Growling with frustration, I look to the many weapons lining the walls of the training room. Uncle Hajime must have cleaned them up for me not that I could possibly carry so many around, let alone learn to use them all.

But…there is a glass case that catches my eye, one filled to the brim with a collection of armor pieces. Not that I can really wear armor, not when I could pop Suzaku's wings out of my back at any moment. _Still…maybe…_

I open the case, reaching for a couple of long wrist- guards. Pitch black, they seem a little out of place, considering the colors my clan always favored. But they certainly suit a shinobi well. I slip them on, turning them over as I inspect the fit. And they fit like a glove. Like they were made just for me. And just in case, I pull the detachable sleeves from my shirt, dropping them onto the floor.

But there is something that bothers me about them. And I frown as I take notice of the seals carved into the undersides. "More blood seals?" _Did they do this to ensure that the armor would never be used by outsiders? But I was able to put them on easily enough, so that can't be it._

Still, my instincts are telling me that there's a lot more to this piece of armor than meets the eye. There's no way that there would be blood seals involved otherwise. "Okay…?" It's a good thing that I found one of the old tomes on sealing jutsu, otherwise I would have no idea where to even start.

Four sealing jutsu later, done both backwards and forwards, I slam my palms together for the fifth time. "Release!" _Maybe I'm just not good at them…?_

As though to prove me wrong, a loud click rings in the air, and something along the sides of my forearms flashes. They feel…heavier, somehow. "A summoning seal, maybe?" I flick my wrists, and like magic, a pair of long, crescent shaped blades appear along the sides, one off each arm, like someone's attached a scythe to each wrist-guard.

Lifting one to eye level, my eyes widen as I recognize the conductive properties of the black blade. "Chakra blades…" Specifically meant for having elemental chakra applied to them, reinforced and hardened far beyond any normal blade. Now these…these should be able to withstand the kind of punishment that training will entail, not to mention harsh battle. They're perfect for what I have in mind.

Focusing my chakra along them, small bursts of wind erupt along the blade as the chakra wraps itself tightly around the cool metal, humming softly as the blades vibrate along my arms. I have to compensate a little, holding my arms steady as the vibrations travel through me from a different angle, and at a much different intensity than usual.

"It's working…" I grin at the sight of the wind chakra sharpening along the edges of the blades. "Now…just push a little harder…" Whenever lightning got involved, it would either fizzle out, or it would blow up in my face. _Normal weapons just aren't built to be able to handle that kind of abuse, but maybe… Think, what would Itachi say?_

 _He would tell me to take it slow, take it easy, let it build up little by little. He would tell me to be patient, wait, and watch. That hurrying will only produce shoddy work, and that patience is the key._ The hum grows louder as the chakra grows brighter little by little. And it makes me smile as I imagine Itachi and Shisui encouraging me, throwing out bits of advice.

I whirl around, letting the chakra spread out in brightly glowing crescents around me, extending well beyond the edges of the blade, and encircling me almost protectively. It's warm and bright, and it feels right, if very new and a little unsettling. But I'm sure that I'll get used to it with time and practice.

Grinning, I go back to the case, rifling through the various pieces, until I find a pair of black, knee-high boots that close over the toes. They feel heavy, heavier than usual shoes or sandals. So I tap them, finding metal in the soles, heels, and toes. "More chakra blades?" It looks like seeing as the slightly curved blades, two in each boot, are as black as the fabric surrounding them. Those could be useful.

I switch out my boots, tapping the new ones against the floor and testing their weight and balance. They'll take some getting used to, but I'm sure that I can do it in a few days. After all, I got used to Lee's old weights easily enough, so some heavy boots should be no problem at all.

* * *

It's raining when I step outside, finally happy with the balance of the wrist-guards and boots. I stride through the wet grass, my heart feeling oddly heavy as the drops wet my hair and face. _I feel…sad? What's going on…? What happened?_ I know that I have good instincts, and something is just whispering to me that something bad has happened, and that the sky is crying.

The magnolias in the garden, with drops bouncing off their waxy petals, are drooping slightly, something that I've never known them to do. They're hardy flowers, able to survive what more delicate plants definitely wouldn't be able to. It's one of the many reasons why we've always grown them here, why my family has always favored them so highly. Something's wrong.

My first instinct is to sprint to the training ground, with no heed for the wet, slippery grass under my feet. A little fall won't kill me, but I just…I have to check on Naruto, I have to make sure that he's okay before I do anything else. Not that I really think that anything could take him down so easily, but still, it's better to be safe than sorry.

Not that it seems that I have anything to worry about, because when I appear next to Kakashi and Yamato, Naruto collapses, not from exhaustion, but from what looks like frustration. Still, I have to frown at the sight, because this all seems very…un-Naruto-like. "What happened?"

Kakashi sighs. "Well, Naruto cut the waterfall, and now, he's trying to apply a change in chakra nature to his Rasengan."

"He's trying to do…what now!?" I raise a disbelieving eyebrow at him. "Tell me you're not serious."

"I am." Kakashi is someone that sometimes, it can be really hard to tell if he's joking or not. But right now, I have to accept that he's not. "He's just hitting a few roadblocks is all."

Yamato lowers his hand, the character on it fading from sight. "Well, what should we do? Should we stop the training?"

"Stop the training?" Now that has to be some kind of joke. I shake my head. "You're nuts if you think that Naruto is going to be okay with just giving up, no matter how frustrated he might be about it now." It's something that Iv seen time and time again while we were out with Jiraiya. If Naruto gives up and doesn't get back to an assignment quickly, he'll agonize over it until he nearly drives himself, and me by extension, completely insane.

Kakashi shakes his head. "Well, if that's what he wants to do…"

"No." I'm not going to just let him give up like this, not when I've got such good news to tell him. "He's not going to give up. I've found a way, and he's going to find one too." I slide my feet across the grass, slowly approaching my friend. "Just watch."

As I approach Naruto and stand over his head, looking right down at him, he blinks, staring up at me. "Ciara…?"

"Yes, dummy, it's me." You'd think that he wouldn't be so surprised to see me after only a few days of me holed up in my house. "What are you doing laying on the ground?"

His face falls slightly, his eyes dulling. "I can't do it…I just can't…"

"Yes you can." I roll my eyes and grab him hand, dragging him to his feet. "If I can find the solution to why my attempts keep blowing up in my face, then you can figure out how to apply a little bit of wind to the Rasengan."

He frowns at me, discouraged and tired. "But it's impossible…I'm just…I'm not a genius like you, I'm a failure."

"No, you're not." I shake my head at him and bonk him on the head. "You pull off shit that most people can only dream of. All you have to do is pull off the impossible, like usual, and we'll be fine. Besides…" I back up a little, flicking my wrists and letting the blades fan out along my arms. "I have new toys that I want to try out, and your new jutsu might be the perfect thing to test them against. After all…" And here's the part where I say the magic words. "We still have to bring Sasuke home, right?"

His eyes widen, regaining a shimmering brightness to them. "Yeah, you're right!" Pumping his fists in the air as the rain soaks his hair, he grins. "Let's do it!"

As I smile, to me, it's all about the training, the feeling of sadness slowly being pushed to the back of my mind. That's why we never saw it coming.


	20. Death Accompanies the Rain

**Well, I'm finally back. I got caught up with home stuff, being a nanny for 9 hours a day, and a bunch of collaborative works (SasuHina stuff, mostly). Oh, and did I mention that my old laptop decided to kill itself? Yeah, that happened. So I had a few bouts of extreme technical difficulties on top of all the other stuff that set me back over a month. Fun. And then I got hit with school starting up, and the bureaucratic chaos surrounding that. In short, I've had a very busy summer.**

 **And I apologize in advance, this is not a happy chapter.**

* * *

If nothing else, the few clones who do start to manifest the Fox's chakra do provide me with adequate target practice from time to time as I struggle to force lightning along the blades on my arms. I'm not sure just how Kakashi makes this look so easy, but I'm calling bullshit on…something! There's got to be some kind of trick to this that he's not telling me.

Not to mention the fact that…it's raining. It's still raining. I know that we're not a desert like the Land of Wind, but last I checked, this wasn't the Rain Village, it's not supposed to rain here on and off for two whole days. There's got to be something wrong with the world, because the weather isn't supposed to act up like this.

"I get it!" And…I get a headache from Naruto's insistence on being obnoxiously loud.

I hiss quietly, before turning to look at Naruto as he produces yet another field of clones. "And what exactly do you get now? I'm a little busy trying to compress lightning here!" And it feels like I'm trying to shove Gamabunta into a tiny box. It keeps wanting to blow up on me. And in the rain…that's not so good.

"I wasn't using enough clones!" _…What now?_ He's just grinning away like an idiot. And somehow, I don't see how adding more clones is going to help. Sure, it cuts down on training time, but if he doesn't figure out what needs to be figured out, then more heads isn't going to help. "Now come on over here! I need your help too!"

"Fine." It's not like I was getting anywhere with my training anyway. "What do you need?" It takes only a single leap for me to be by Naruto's side. The original him, of course, and not one of the couple hundred clones. But something is off this time. Different. "What have you got in mind?"

He grins widely as the clones clump into groups of three, instead of pairs. "How do you look right and left at the same time?"

An odd question. "Make a clone and have the clone do it for you?" That seems like too easy a question, especially for someone like Naruto, who uses his clones to excess. "What's your point?"

"Well, remember when I was learning the Rasengan, and needed a clone to gather up the chakra for me?" _Hah, like I'd ever forget. I was the one who was tending to him the entire time._

Still, I nod my head and glance around at the clones. "Yeah, because you can only focus on one thing at a time." …Click. "…You're going to use an extra clone?" One for gathering chakra, one for molding the chakra, and another for changing the nature of it?

His grin grows wider and he nods his head vigorously. "Exactly! If I have an extra pair of hands, I should be able to pull it off!"

It's a very Naruto solution. "Alright, then what exactly do you need me for?" This sounds like something that Naruto already has all figured out.

He points to the long blades on my arms. "Show me how you gather your wind chakra. I want to see it before I try it again."

 _Oh…he wants another demonstration._ "Alright." I hold my arms out to the sides, complying with the easy request. Lightning might be a pain in the ass, but wind…wind has always been my fall-back, it's what I've always found easiest. "Watch carefully."

As my chakra rapidly expands around my arms, compressing and solidifying around the blades, a vicious hum permeates the air, making the raindrops vibrate. The chakra sharpens and increases in both force and velocity as it runs along the dark blades, brightening the edges with an almost silvery white glow. The chakra around me rips up some of the grass, spinning it through the air, and slicing it to ribbons as they get too close to the blades.

"Yeah…" Naruto stares at my blades, mesmerized by the twisting, spinning, and infinitely sharpened wind chakra. "That's exactly what I need!"

"Alright, then go for it." I lift up my arms to show him every angle, hoping that it might help some with however he's trying to visualize putting this change in nature together. And judging by the expression on his face, it's working.

My own chakra begins to die down a little as his begins to flow out, forming that all too familiar ball of blue chakra I've come to know so well. It whirls around at speeds that most ninja only wish they could achieve. Of course, it would make most sick if they could, but that's not the point.

No, the point is that Naruto, who keeps glancing back at me, his eyes on the visible part of my chakra, is showing the same grit and determination that helped him to learn the Rasengan in the first place. And that's about when the air starts to…I don't know, circle in towards Naruto? It's almost imperceptible at first, but I can feel it, can…hear it.

About five seconds later, I really wish that I couldn't. Because the once gentle swirling of wind has turned into a banshee's screech. Forget a whistling wind, this sound, not entirely blocked out when I clap my hands over my ears, makes my eardrums want to bleed. "Naruto! What are you doing!?"

"It's working!" Naruto's voice is barely audible above the noise of his new…thing. _It's shaped like… Wait, is that a shuriken?_ "Check it out!"

Removing my hands from my ears, since they're clearly not helping anything, I peer confusedly at the sharp, screaming orb in his hands. "Why does it look like it swallowed a shuriken!?"

"Cool, right!?" Naruto grins widely. "You were doing this before, so I thought it would work since my Rasengan spins just like your shuriken do!"

 _…You have got to be kidding me._ "Alright, well can you turn it off!? It's getting loud!" Seriously, this jutsu should come with some kind of warning label on it, warning against the potential of ruptured eardrums.

"Yeah, hang on a second!" Naruto's grin starts to wane as the winds start to spin out of control. "Shit! Ciara, get away!"

There's no need to tell me twice. I know exactly what happens when wind gets out of control, and I would rather NOT be in that blast radius. "Be careful!" It's the only advice I can really give him, since there's no way to stop him from being the epicenter of…whatever it is that's about to go down.

I take cover behind one of the nearest trees, but even that's not quite enough to hold back all of the blast. Wind erupts out in all directions, blowing across the training ground and through the trees, ripping leaves off, and even some branches. Of course, I'm not mad or anything, he would be far from the first person to cause damage to this place, and it's safer to do it here than inside the house. Less destructive too.

Poking my head out once the dust settles, I can't help but laugh at the sight of Naruto on his ass. "Looks like you can produce something strong, but you have no idea how to disarm it without disarming yourself along with it!"

He glares at me sourly. "Well at least it's farther than I've gotten so far!" And while that's true, being able to undo a jutsu is just as important as producing it in the first place. After all, what if circumstances change and the jutsu can't be launched. You can't simply hold it indefinitely. No one has that much chakra. It would kill even someone like Naruto, or me. And that's with our extra…help.

 _You must admit that your friend is growing tremendously._ Suzaku laughs inside my head, and I can just picture the amusement on his face. _As are you._

 _Yeah, he is…_ But to be frank, neither of us are growing nearly fast enough. And that's a fact that I'd rather face sooner than later. Because the longer we wait to deal with it, the worse our situation will be, and the more people we could lose to the Akatsuki.

Still, now that it's safe to come out, I stride towards Naruto with a big smirk on my face. "Well, good job. It blew up, but at least you applied the change in nature. Now you just have to learn how to let it go without blowing yourself up along with it."

"Yeah, yeah." He gets to his feet and dusts himself off. "If you're so smart, do you got any advice about that?"

"Maybe." And maybe a few moments of laughter won't hurt. After all, we can't be tense the whole time. We'll just hurt ourselves. "Think of it like letting out a breath. Don't do it quickly, otherwise it'll be like blowing out birthday candles. Let it out slowly, as though you're trying to avoid blowing the candles out." I know that it's less fun that way, but at least it might prevent Naruto from accidentally blowing his arm off. "The more volatile the chakra, the gentler you have to be with it." _Now, if only that applied to lightning as well…_

"Ciara! Naruto!" Kakashi waves us over from next to Yamato. "We're done training for the day."

I frown, something feeling…off to me. It may be raining, but that hasn't stopped us from training yet. "What do you mean? We're not tired yet!"

Kakashi shakes his head, lowering his hand to beckon us over. "There's a summons."

Naruto blinks, then turns a wide-eyed gaze onto me. "Whoa! Whaddya think it's about!?"

"Dunno." But I still feel as though something is wrong. "Come on." I take off towards Yamato and Kakashi, my frown only growing as I take in their expressions. They look grim, not at all what you would expect when Naruto has just figured out the next in his series of steps towards a new and improved Rasengan.

As the two of us skid to a stop in the wet grass, Naruto looks from one teacher to the next. "What's going on?"

When the two look at each other, I know it's not good. "Kakashi…Yamato…has something happened?" It would explain the dark feeling I had earlier. I'd ignored it, for the most part, but now…I'm not so sure that's a good idea.

Yamato's expression darkens. "We need to call off the training and return immediately." He glances at me for only a moment. "Asuma Sarutobi…has been killed."

"No." The word leaves my mouth before I can even hope to hold it back. "He can't…" Not again. This can't be happening again.

"Ciara…" Kakashi puts a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, but we have to go. The funeral services start in a few hours. We should all be there."

Another person has died. Another person near me has died. I can't…I can't… "…How did it happen?"

Yamato sighs. "The Akatsuki. His team found the two Akatsuki members at one of the collection offices for black market bounties. They engaged them, but the Akatsuki escaped, and Asuma was mortally wounded."

"The Akatsuki." Why does that not surprise me? They seem to be responsible for a lot of the death I've seen recently. At least in some way or another. "…I see." Cold. I feel so…cold inside. _Uncle Asuma…_ Why hadn't I spent more time with him when I had the chance? Gone out for a meal with him before he went out on his last mission? Maybe trained with him a little, refined my wind style a little more…

"Ciara…" Naruto's voice is a little muffled next to me, and I feel his warm hands touching my face. Then, come his blue eyes, full of sadness. He looks like he's going to cry. "It's okay to cry."

I tilt my head a little. _I'm…crying?_ I lift a hand to my face, rubbing at the itchy feeling on my cheeks, coming away with a wet sheen there. "Oh…" The realization hurts. I bite my lip, trying to make something else hurt instead. But it doesn't work. "Not again…" I inhale thickly, a sob shaking me hard. "Not again…"

Kakashi sighs, patting Yamato on the should as Naruto wraps his arms around me. "Come on, let's leave them be."

"Yeah…" But I barely even notice the two of them disappear. They're just here one moment, and then gone the next. Just like Asuma.

Naruto's arms tighten around me as my tears soak his shirt. "He's gone…just like the old man, just like Shisui, like my family…" Why is it that this world seems intent on ripping people away from me?

He doesn't say a thing, he just stands there and lets me cry. Because, really, there's nothing he could say to make this hurt any less.

* * *

The prayer rests on the wall, engraved between the twisting and turning bodies of golden dragons. The words, gilded just as the dragons are, have been passed down from one generation to the next since long before shinobi walked the earth. I'd forgotten them a long time ago. But now that I can stare at them, fresh tears making tracks on my face, I know that I'll never forget them again.

In my arms, I carry magnolias, their white, waxy petals repelling and bouncing away the tears that drip onto them. The funeral has started, I know, and I doubt that I'm the only one running late, but I had to change. It's my great-grandmother's dress, from when she was just a little older than me. The short blue, red, and gold dress fits me perfectly.

The fresh sheet of rain wets my hair, tamping down the waves and curls. The weather reflects my own mood. It's rainy and overcast, and the world just seems very dark and gray. I hate it. I love the colors of the world, and I hate it when everything is so gray. But right now…I don't have the heart to try and will it away.

The trek down the mountain is no easier, not even with the Body Flicker to speed the process. My feet may be light, but my heart is heavy. Thankfully, though it is as much a curse as it is a blessing, the graveyard is at the southern end of the village, close to the mountain. It's not a very long trip at all.

Though when I hear Konohamaru's crying, I almost wish that it had been a longer trip anyway. The bell is ringing dully in honor of our uncle, but even its tone seems diminished, as though it too is mourning Asuma's loss.

And of course, as I walk into the graveyard, Kurenai is the one kneeling before Asuma's grave. _Those two…yes…_ They were together, they must have been.

 _Chick, your uncle's woman…is carrying his child._ He sounds so sure of that, that it shocks my tears away. At least for now.

I stare at Kurenai, almost not believing the words of my own partner. _Are you sure?_

 _Yes, Chick, I am sure._

It's incredible, but only makes this whole situation that much worse. _I see…_ Kurenai's child will grow up without their father. I'm not sure if that's better or worse than losing your father at a young age, but I'm sure that it will be painful either way.

That said, as I walk down the space between the two halves of the crowd, my eyes fall solely on the grave as my mouth opens, the words coming forth almost independent of my will. "May your spirit fly to the skies and find freedom there. Race the wind at every twist and turn." Eyes fall on me, but I ignore them as the prayer continues to come forth. "Follow the water wherever it may lead you. Tame the lightning and the wildness of the world." Hope for his future, wherever that may be. "May your body sink and become one with the almighty earth. As you take the fire into your heart. Then, may you find peace." A prayer, as we say goodbye. As a dragon says goodbye.

Kurenai looks up at me as I stop at the grave, a bouquet of magnolias clutched in my arms. "Was that…a prayer for Asuma?"

"Yes." I kneel down, taking the flowers one by one, and arranging them around his headstone. "It is the prayer a dragon gives at the funeral of one of their kin. Asuma…was one of the few close enough that I could still call that." And the number of those few people is waning little by little.

"I see." There are dried tears on her face as well, that much is unmistakable. "Thank you."

I blink, clearing away the few tears left. "Why?" Why would she be thanking me? If I had prevented his death, that would be one thing, but now…

"For opening your heart. For honoring him with your traditions." She touches my hand gently. "For being here when you're hurting as well."

It's a shock, but not one that is unwelcome, just one that induces a few more tears. "It's nothing. I simply did what I felt to be right." It's all I could do.

* * *

After the crowd disperses, Kurenai and I stay behind, sitting by Asuma's grave. And as she's on the quiet side, it's up to me to break the silence. "I know that you're carrying his child, my cousin." Well, by my aunt's marriage to his brother, but still a cousin by marriage. "If you'd like…you could come home with me."

Her hands move to her abdomen, clutching there as her vermilion eyes widen. "You know? But how? Did Shikamaru-"

"No." I touch one hand protectively to her stomach, and another to my own, over the seal invisibly laid into my skin. "But I have someone just as perceptive as Shikamaru helping me out." Then, my gaze hardens a little. "That's why I extend the invitation to you. If you'd like, there's plenty of room in my home, and in many of the homes around it. There's gardens as well." I smile a little painfully. "I've heard that you like gardening. And the peach trees could use some love. I just end up eating all the fruit." It's hard, smiling when it hurts so much, but I have to try anyway.

She shakes her head slowly. "No, I couldn't impose."

"It's no imposition." I cut her off before she can say any more. "I have more than enough space, over a hundred houses to choose from. And the main house is more than big enough to house three dozen people. There would be more than enough room for your baby to roam around safely." And safety is paramount, after everything that's happened.

"There's gardens all over, and food stores stocked well enough to hold off a siege." Just not a group of assassins in the dark. "It's even closer to the hospital than your apartment is, and since I'm a medic, as long as I stay here when you're close to term, I can make sure that nothing bad happens." Because, knowing this village's track record, there's a lot of bad things that could happen. "There would be no rent, no need to go shopping for groceries, and you could save your money for when you need it. You could take it easy and not have to worry, just spend your time reading or gardening, or whatever you like. And you and your baby would be safe." Safer than my family was, because I've learned the hard way to be extra vigilant. "It's…the least I can do for you and Asuma."

Her expression softens at my words. "Protecting family is important to you, isn't it?"

I nod. "I was too young to protect my parents, my aunts, my uncles, and my cousins. But I can at least make sure to protect you, even if I'm on a mission or away from the village. Just…let me?" It's almost a plea, but I'd like to think that I'm a little more dignified than that.

Her hand squeezes mine as she nods. "Then I will accept your invitation."

I can't help but breathe a sigh of relief. "Good." Maybe this time, I'll be able to protect someone. Maybe this time, it will turn out for the best.

* * *

 _Pain, burning pain again. Blood everywhere. Blond hair tied back with bandages._

 _Spinning around, I come face to face with someone I didn't want to see. Not again. I already know…I know that she's gone. Or maybe going? I'm not sure. I don't know anymore. Everything is hazy. Confused. There's no sense to it anymore, just sadness and pain._

 _"Ciara." She looks at me, blood dripping from her mouth as she reaches for me. She looks terrifying, but her hand is gentle. It's strange, to be terrified of her, and reassured by her presence all at once._

 _"Yugito." I know her. She introduced herself before. "What happened to you?" I'm not sure if I'll get a real answer, by some otherworldly connection, or if whatever she tells me is just all in my head. But…something tells me, like the other times, like every time that I've gotten something right, that she will tell me the truth somehow. Whatever she does tell me, anyway._

 _Her already dark eyes darken further. "The Akatsuki. The one who prays, and the bounty hunter. They came for me. And now, they're heading for the Land of Fire."_

 _"They're coming here!?" No, it couldn't be… "They're the ones who killed my uncle."_

 _"I see." She nods sadly. "Then they've already arrived. They're looking for you, for the jinchuuriki of the Leaf."_

 _"Naruto…" It seems that whenever we encounter these Akatsuki, their first target is Naruto, and not me. I would rather it be me. If it were, it would be easier to divert their attention from the people I want to keep safe. And it would be easier to annihilate them once and for all. It's the only way to keep the people I care about safe. "Are you already dead?"_

 _She nods once more. "I am as good as. The extraction process is nearly complete."_

 _Extraction. It's a word that sends a terrible chill down my spine. "They're planning to rip out our tailed beasts. All of them."_

 _"Yes, it seems so." Her hand finally reaches out to pat me on the head. "I'm sorry, but I have no time left. Beware the Akatsuki. They come for you. The immortals come for you."_

 _"Immortals!? What do you mean immortals!?" But it's no use, because her image fades before my eyes, leaving me with many questions, and very few answers._

 _Then, pain wracks my body, a stabbing, burning, drilling pain, along with the sensation of something being pulled out. It feels as though someone is extracting my organs one by one, with no heed for the pain they're causing. It's the extraction process, it has to be. "Yugito!"_

* * *

I sit straight up, eyes wide and heart going a mile a minute as gentle hands touch me. Vermilion eyes, along with worried blue. "They're coming." I can barely force the words out. "They're coming again." And we don't have much time. "We have to be ready."

The blue eyes narrow, and blond hair shakes in the darkness. "Yeah, we will be. Believe it."


	21. Rasenshuriken Complete

**Ah, Chaos, have I told you how much I love seeing you? Because I do, seriously, you always make my day with your theories, right or wrong, even if it's a small one. You're exactly right, that's exactly what she'll be doing prior to that battle (you know, provided that her mental state remains intact).**

 **Anyway, this chapter is going to feature my favorite Akatsuki, Hidan (since I don't count Itachi among them, really). And, of course, that's going to include his foul mouth. I tried not to overdo it with the swearing, though. Oh, and P.O.V switching, lots of that too.**

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

"Hey…are you sure that you're good to train?" Naruto watches me worriedly as we walk out onto the training field once more. "If you don't want to…I get it."

"No." I sigh and shake my head. "This has nothing to do with what I want or not. I have to." The Akatsuki leave us no choice, there's very little time to grieve. And yesterday was hard enough. "There will be time to mourn him properly later."

"Alright…then let's get back to work." Yamato sets up his ring of wooden pillars once more, sitting himself in the middle of them. "As you know, Kakashi isn't going to be here today."

"Yeah…" He went off with Squad Ten to track down those two Akatsuki. "Which means we're working on a deadline, right? We've got twenty-four hours." Naruto almost has his new jutsu down, and I…still have my issues with lightning. That can't be allowed to continue. "Let's make the most of it."

"Right!" Naruto produces two clones in an instant, as there's no longer a need for the large-scale training. No, now it's down to refining the technique. "Let's do it!"

"Yes." I take my position opposite him, ready to give him some resistance if he needs it. A living target. "Let's." I flick my wrists, fanning out the blades on my arm as wind races along them. Then, I add just the smallest flicker of lightning.

Through natural talent or sheer determination doesn't matter, all that matters is turning those sparks into thunderstorms.

* * *

Sakura's P.O.V.

Those two…they know that we're on a deadline, and they're sure acting like it. Until now, there were smiles all the time, at least one of them always had a grin on their face. But now…

"You're worried about them." Captain Yamato sighs. "They'll get through this, they're tough."

"I know." I know that they are, and they've managed to get through a lot, but still…this is the Akatsuki we're talking about. This isn't some C-Rank mission to another land. We're dealing with S-Class criminals, the kind of people who have abilities that we've never even seen before.

And the whole point of this training is to give them abilities that we've never seen before as well? I just…I can only hope that Naruto at least can wrap up his training quickly. That, or we don't take either of them to fight the Akatsuki. And sometimes, I think that it really would be safer just to keep them here, where it's safe.

"Look out!" Naruto's voice snaps me out of my thoughts in time to feel a huge wave of chakra spreading out in all directions.

The sight before me is incredible, to say the least. Naruto and Ciara stand only a foot apart, an screaming, whistling orb in Naruto's hand putting off so much pressure that, when it hits me, it knocks me clean off my feet! _How can she possibly be holding her ground against THAT!?_

But holding her ground, she is, and the blades on her arms are glowing a violent white-blue, and producing a hum that makes my teeth vibrate and clack together. Between the screeching and the humming, my head feels like it's going to split in two.

"Naruto! Be careful! It's going to explode!" I'm not entirely sure how wind chakra is supposed to explode, but I make sure to heed her warning to Naruto and take cover as, once again, Naruto's jutsu has a meltdown.

"Ngh." Yamato grunts, slamming his hands together to make a wooden barrier between us and them, as the trees are having trouble withstanding so much punishment. "Sakura, you should get out of here. It's only going to get more dangerous from here on out."

"I'm okay!" After all, there's no way I'm running away while they're training so hard. "They might need a medic, and Ciara's focused on honing her lightning style. She can't be spending her time healing herself and Naruto." She could leave that part to me.

"Naruto!" Ciara's voice rings out as another explosion goes off on the other side of the barrier.

"No!" I jump over the wooden barrier to see the two of them on the ground, looking pretty bruised up from whatever the hell the two of them just pulled.

Naruto waves a hand from down in his half of the crater. "We're okay!" Though he definitely doesn't look okay. "Just had a bit of a jutsu mishap!"

"You mean a total malfunction!" Ciara rolls onto her knees, staggering to her feet. "You didn't compress it enough! You need to compress the chakra more than usual. Wind likes to be free, so in order to control it, you need to compress it until it can't be compressed any more."

"Right!" With a couple more puffs of smoke, Naruto makes another set of clones. "Let's try this again!"

Ciara takes up her position again, but sinks a little into a firmer stance. "If you think you can get it, then try it. I can take whatever you dish out!"

 _Can she…?_

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

I can tell that Naruto is getting closer to figuring out how to stabilize his new jutsu. And my lightning…well, it's not quite as unstable as it was before, but it's still giving me trouble when it makes the blades vibrate too much. I feel like my arms are going to fall off, despite knowing that they most certainly are not going to spontaneously detach themselves.

Still, I brace myself as Naruto begins to ready another attack. The last one was strong enough to knock me on my ass, and knowing Naruto, this next one is going to send me flying if I'm not braced to take it. _Can you watch the both of us and make sure that nothing…permanent happens?_ I can hardly expect a miracle, but Suzaku has always been very good at making sure that I don't end up dead, for one reason or another.

 _Of course, Chick. I will watch, as I always have._ His warmth spreads through my body, comforting me somewhat. _Loosen your mental hold on your body, and I will take control, should it be necessary._

 _Alright._ It's a good thing that I trust him, otherwise I would never do this sort of thing. It almost reminds me of what Orochimaru plans to do to my cousin. Which is NOT going to happen. Because after we take care of the Akatsuki…well, we're working on more than one deadline.

"Ready!?" Naruto grimaces across the field from me, he and his clones trying hard to keep the jutsu all together.

"Yeah!" I relinquish most of my hold on my body, just in case, using what control I do have left to spark wind and lightning along the blades. "Do it now!" Knowing us, this is probably going to go horribly wrong at first, but you don't get anywhere by playing it safe.

I…really wish I was wrong sometimes. The moment that Naruto's attack, a whirling, swirling, screaming giant Rasengan with four curved points hits my defense, the ground around us gives way, and the explosion really does lift me clear off the ground.

 _Hold on!_ Bursts of scarlet and gold enter my field of vision, obscuring everything as a painful tingling shoots through my body. Then, all goes dark as I roll across the ground, wrapped tightly in the protective embrace of my partner's wings. The brunt of the blast hits the wings and only small amounts of chakra leak through, but it's more than enough to tell me that the deafening blast did more than a little damage to the landscape.

I groan as I roll over, the wings slowly opening to reveal the gigantic crater in the middle of the training grounds. _Oh…you've got to be kidding me…_ My dad would kill me if he could see the mess we've made of this place. Okay, maybe he wouldn't go that far, but I'm pretty sure that he'd be annoyed at the very least. From what I remember, anyway.

"Ciara!" Sakura lands next to me, her fingers reaching through the feathers as the wings begin to recede. "What happened!? Why are you…"

"Don't worry, he protected me from most of the blast." Though I still feel like I've been electrocuted. Which is strange, because I know that I didn't do it to myself, and Naruto doesn't have a talent for lightning. "As for what happened…I'll let you know when I figure it out." Because I'm still reeling from it, myself.

From what I can tell, that wasn't the exploding whirlwind that I was expecting. It's what I would have done, in Naruto's position. Taken the naturally whirling currents of the Rasengan, and then amplified them with wind chakra, to create an exploding typhoon, or something to that effect. Whatever he did…I'm still not sure just WHAT he did.

Sakura's chakra washes over me as I let my head stop spinning. "You know, you should really take a break. There's only so much that your body can take, even with…help."

"I know." But that doesn't change the fact that we're on a pretty tight deadline. "I can keep going a while longer. I'll take a break when it's time to eat." Which…according to my stomach, should be sometime in about an hour. "For now, I just need to be well enough to get back on my feet and try that again." Because Naruto wasn't the only one finally having some success. Getting thrown through the air aside, my chakra blades were finally starting to stabilize when I was just letting the lightning bleed into them. Slow and steady seems to win the race against lightning. Ironic, yes, but maybe that's why it works.

Alright, time to try again.

* * *

Twenty-three hours, thirty-nine minutes. Twenty-one minutes until Tsunade's deadline passes, and she sends another team in place of this one. Not that I would allow myself to be left behind, of course, no matter what anyone might say or think. Because like hell would I leave my problems to someone else. Or in this case, mine and Naruto's problems. Not happening. End of story. There's no further discussion. And I'm pretty sure that by now, Tsunade's figured that out as well.

I go where I please. And right now, that's to the battlefield.

"Ready?" I glance at Naruto, likely with the same grim expression he's sporting now. "We take these two out, that's two less that we'll have to deal with down the road. Which would leave…" Hypothetically, anyway. "Kisame, that weird guy with the stick, and…the leaders of the group." Because Orochimaru isn't with them anymore, Sasori and Deidara kicked the bucket, and the two Akatsuki this time are going to be kicking the bucket soon too.

"Don't forget Itachi Uchiha." Yamato…sometimes, I really wish that he would keep his nose out of conversations that don't concern him.

At least Sakura has the decency not to say anything. But Sai, on the other hand… "Yes, he is also a member of the Akatsuki, is he not?"

I glare at the two of them, and I watch Naruto and Sakura recoil from my gaze. "Itachi won't move against us." Not seriously, anyway. "And if he does cause any problems, then you leave him to me, and that's all." Not that I believe that he will, but because…well, I don't know what Sai and Yamato would do if they found him. "Got it?"

Before Yamato or Sai have the chance to retort, Naruto nods. "Yeah, we'll leave him to you." He squeezes my hand as a show of support. "Do you think we'll actually run into him?"

"Probably not." Even if he were in the area, which I doubt, he would probably keep his distance unless that partner of his insisted otherwise. And even then…he wouldn't hurt me. Maybe the others, but not me. And it's something that I can use to my advantage. Hell, he probably expects me to use it. He'd probably be disappointed if I didn't.

Yamato's eyes narrow at me, but he acquiesces, all the same. "Alright, then let's go. We've got their location, so let's catch up to them as quickly as possible."

"Right!" And in an instant, the five of us turn towards the gate, seen off by the grim faces of Izumo and Kotetsu. I can't blame them, after all, they were there when Asuma was killed. This is a mission not just of back-up, or to eliminate the Akatsuki, but for the village, it's one to get payback for what they did. Payback for Asuma's life.

I just want them gone. I want the threat gone.

The seconds pass by slowly, each one feeling like an hour. It's crunch time, and none of us want to slow down for even an instant, and despite being the most heavily laden, as usual, I'm the fastest, easily leading the group as my eyes glow, searching for any hint of tracks. The rain has made tracking difficult, as the ground is still soft and tracks are easily covered or ruined.

But we know what direction we're headed in, so tracks or no tracks, we'll find them. They should be just on the outskirts of the huge forest surrounding the village. Which means that as soon as we're through these trees, we should be able to find them no problem.

Now, if I know Shikamaru… "They'll probably have split up the Akatsuki to deal with them separately. They're probable a lot harder to deal with in pairs." Typically, that's the issue with fighting people who are used to being partners, they know well how to cover and complement each other when the moment calls for it.

"Agreed." Yamato makes a large jump, coming up to race through the trees by my side. "We should plan to split up and assist where needed."

"Yes." I glance back at them, frowning. "I'll take Sakura and Sai." Best to split up me and Naruto for a bit, just in case. Besides, we both have a bone to pick with the Akatsuki, and it wouldn't be fair to have to share one.

Yamato agrees to the proposal easily. "And I'll take Naruto. We should arrive in just a couple of hours, so be ready."

"Yes…" Be ready…as in be ready to kill Akatsuki. Because just like with Deidara and Sasori, these two are too dangerous to be allowed to live.

Silence falls, all except for the sounds of our rapid footsteps. There's no time to waste, and we all know it. Seconds, and then minutes tick by under the leafy canopies, and my heart doesn't slow down for even one of those seconds. No, we have to hurry, there's no time to take a break and rest.

Kakashi, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino need us!

* * *

Shikamaru's P.O.V.

"Hehehehehe…" The guy is laughing, even after I've outsmarted him and nearly taken his head off. "You know, I'm not all that bright, but even I can see through you. You've used it so many times now, after seeing you do it so much, even an idiot could figure out the ins and outs of your jutsu."

"What did you say?" _Damn it, he couldn't have…_

Hidan is looking way too smug right now. "I can tell that your jutsu isn't as strong as it was before. It hasn't even been five minutes, and I can already move again."

My Shadow Strangle…I can feel it wearing off. But it's not just because I'm running out of time. _No, this guy…he's moving through brute strength too!_

As he pulls out the stake in his chest, he rises to his feet. The damn immortal. "Thing is…I realized that both the power and duration of your little jutsu gradually weakens each and every time you use it. Admit it, kid…" I can't hold him much longer. "The more you use that jutsu, the more feeble it gets, until you have nothing left! I'd even venture to guess you're approaching the limit of your chakra!"

He's right, and I've used so much chakra now that I can barely move. I've got my net of explosive tags up, so in the worst case scenario, I can take him down with me, at least.

"So, you're one of the immortals we've been hearing so much about." A familiar voice drifts through the air, though I can't tell what direction it's coming from.

"The hell!?" Hidan, distracted for only a moment, backs off a little, only for his eyes to widen as his head topples to the ground. "You bitch! What the hell do you think you're doing!?"

"Stopping you from killing Shikamaru like you did my uncle." Fierce, fiery eyes gaze down from a nearly emotionless face. Nearly, but there's still a hint of deep rage visible in the depths of her eyes. "You're Hidan, right?"

"C-Ciara…" _No way, what the hell is SHE doing here?_

"Shikamaru…" Her eyes turn on me this time. "Is this the man who killed Asuma?" I nod once, still unable to believe what I'm seeing. "I see…" She kicks at his head, tossing it against a tree.

"YOU FUCKING BITCH, THAT HURTS!" Magenta eyes glare at our new arrival. "WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU!?"

"Who am I…?" She twitches, approaching him and weaving her fingers into silver hair, before picking up his head and tightening her grip. "I'm one of the ones you're after. A jinchuuriki. AND, I'm the niece of the man that you and your partner killed."

"Oh, is that fucking so?" Blood drips from his neck and mouth as Hidan looks her up and down. And I don't like the way he looks at her. "Yeah…Deidara said that you had a nice body. Lousy temper, though."

"…So he's alive, then." She…doesn't look impressed by that. "Then I suppose that we'll be having a round two sooner or later. He won't escape from me next time." She tosses Hidan's head back towards his body. "I will fight to keep you Akatsuki from hurting anyone else, to keep you from continuing to hurt the people I love." She glances at me, her eyes growing cold. "I assume that you have a plan for disposing of him?"

"Yeah." I raise my hand, letting my shadows go to work as I pump out what's left of my chakra to pull all of the explosive tags in the area towards him. "So, I guess I'm not quite out of chakra after all."

"You little brats!" Hidan's head keeps wiggling, but the rest of him…well, that's another story entirely. "Kakuzu! Dammit, KAKUZU!"

"Your partner isn't coming." Ciara backs away, her eyes finding the pitfall trap in the ground. "Naruto is taking care of him as we speak. Your jinchuuriki hunt is ending in failure at the hands of Squad Ten, Squad Seven, and the two jinchuuriki who call the Leaf Village home."

"You're kidding, right!?" Hidan keeps on squirming, trying futilely to escape the paper tags as I throw a knife into the trigger spot. "What are you doing!?" He's loud, for a severed head.

I smirk at the sight of him. "See for yourself." The ground around him crumbles, leaving his head and body suspended only by the wires, shadows, and paper bombs.

"What is this!?" His eyes widen in alarm. "When the hell did you set this up!?"

"A while ago, long before we caught up with the two of you." I stand and walk to the edge of the pit, held up by the iron rods poked into the sides to hold up the fragile rock cover. "When you curse someone, you dig your own grave. Because you'll be defeated in retribution."

"Some might call that justice." Ciara joins me at the edge of the pit, and I could swear that there are sparks of fire dancing in her hair. "But I just want you gone. As long as you're still able to move, you're still a threat. And even if we can't kill you, we can keep you here forever. Can't we, Shikamaru?"

"Yeah." I flick open Asuma's lighter, lighting it up. "We can do that."

"It doesn't matter what you do to me!" Hidan grins, the terrifying smile made only more so by all of the blood. "It doesn't matter if you dismember me and bury the pieces, I'll just chew my way out!"

"Oh really…?" I glance at the deer making their presence known in the woods. "These woods are a special place in the Land of Fire. Only members of my clan are allowed in here." Though Ciara… "And those that share our blood, it seems."

"Yes, but a dragon can go wherever they please." Now, there's something new bubbling in those fiery depths. Pride? Sadness? I'm not quite sure which. "There's only one intruder in these woods. The others are waiting safely outside for us. But you…well, you're not leaving this place if I have anything to say about it."

"I hear ya." It's hard, but this is the way it has to be.

A hand touches my shoulder, and…I can see him. "You did well, Shikamaru." Asuma. Getting out a pack of cigarettes like he always used to do. It was something that always annoyed us

It…hurts, but at the same time, it's right. "Thanks." I hold up the lighter for him, watching as he lights up a transparent smoke. He never could kick that nasty habit.

"My Will of Fire…I entrust to you, now." The wispy smoke rises into the air as his form disappears. "Protect them."

"Hey, what were you just doing with that!?" Hidan…he just doesn't know when to stop talking. "I'm talking to you!"

"It's the Will of Fire. The will to protect our village." It's that simple to me.

"The will to protect everything we hold dear." Ciara nods to me. "Do it." It seems that she wants this over with as much as I do. "As long as he's still walking, he's a threat." A threat to everything that she holds dear as well.

"Yeah." I toss the lighter at him, since it's only fitting that Asuma be the one to finally take this guy out.

There's a moment, just a second, where everything seems perfectly quiet, perfectly still. Even Hidan is quiet, not a single swear word coming out of his mouth. Then, everything goes up in flames, and heat wraps around me, along with a pair of arms, and…feathers?

"Stay down." Ciara's breath wafts over my ear. _Of course it's her…_ "I'll heal you up in a minute, and then we'll go to meet the others. They should be done with Kakuzu any minute now." The rumbling slowly comes to a stop, and she unwraps her wings from around me. "How badly are you hurt?"

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

"Not bad. I'm pretty much out of chakra, though." He looks pretty banged up to me, but he'd probably tell me if he had any broken bones.

"Alright." I lift up my hands, exuding chakra from them as the wings recede once more. Thank you, Suzaku. _You've saved the day again._

 _It was nothing, Chick. I merely gave you my wings so that you might reach your friend in time, and so that you might protect him. That is all._

 _Still, I really do appreciate it._ And I would feel wrong if I didn't at least thank him for his contribution. If I'd taken any longer, Shikamaru might have been killed. "I'll take care of the bruises, and I'll inject you with some chakra. Then we can get out of here and meet up with the others."

He nods tiredly. "Yeah, sounds good." He must have been up the whole last twenty-four hours, tracking and watching these two. He's going to need a lot of rest when we get back to the village.

I glance at the pit, now collapsed inwards with rocks, buring whatever is left of Hidan alive. It's where he belongs. He was one of the two who took down Yugito. And he deserves nothing less than to be buried forever.

All around us, deer approach, and one of them starts digging that lighter out of the dirt, the one that Asuma always carried around with him. Another of them nuzzles my cheek, while a third almost seems to…examine Shikamaru. Well, their horns ARE used to make medicine, so maybe they fancy themselves to be doctors or something.

Shikamaru stretches out his arms a couple of minutes later, pushing himself to his feet and leaning on one of the deer for a moment. "Come on, the others are going to need us as soon as possible."

"Yeah, I know." I give him a sharp boost to his chakra, before letting one of the deer nudge me along towards the other side of the forest. "Sai and Sakura should be waiting for us outside. I told them to wait there until I gave a signal, since I knew that this forest was off-limits."

"Good call." He laughs a little as his own little friend nudges him along as well. "And good timing, too."

"I try." After all, that's really all I can do. Because it seems like I can't stop bad things from happening around me. All I can really do is try to clean up the messes before they get worse.

"Ciara!" Sakura's voice calls for me as we reach the edge of the woods. "Shikamaru!"

"We're here!" I wave my hand as the two of us emerge from the trees. "Anything to report?"

"Nothing at all, it has been quiet." Sai's dark eyes fall on Shikamaru, looking him up and down, and probably noting that we're both covered in blood and ash. "And the two of you?"

"We're fine." But even as I say that, the ground begins to rumble. "Hidan's partner, on the other hand…is not." I recognize that blast easily. I've almost been on the receiving end of it twice already. "It sounds like that battle is over as well."

"How can you be sure?" Shikamaru eyes me bemusedly. "That guy's no pushover."

"Yeah, I got that." I laugh derisively. "But I know that attack well enough to know…if it hit, there's no way that he'll survive much longer." And that's assuming that he survived the initial blast in the first place, which would be quite a feat in itself. I doubt he has the advantage of chakra-resistant wings that can pop out at the drop of a hat. "Come on, let's head back to the Leaf. The others will meet us en-route. "We'll go slow and give them time to catch up."

Because it's over. At least…for now, it is. I just want to go home.


	22. Tracking the Uchiha

**Okay, so this chapter is kind of packed, and jumps right into the next section without much of a break in between. And it jumps from place to place a lot, since I didn't want to bore anyone with a description of searching through a forest. But it's mostly setup for next chapter, which I plan to break a few hearts in.**

* * *

 _Calm…I am calm…I am one with nature. I am a dragon…I am…_

Water bubbles around me as I open my eyes, my chakra drifting out into the water, just like I'd practiced. The world looks so distant, looking up through the clear blue water of the mountain lake. I've been holding my breath a while, and it's best that I return to the surface. _But…just a little longer…_

The surface ripples as I reach a hand out of it, pulling myself to sit halfway out of the water. I can feel its energy, the energy of the air, the ground…everything. It's something that I've been doing for a while. Just…communing with nature. Feeling the ebb and flow of the energies around me, just like a sensor, except…deeper than that. It's an exchange. I give energy, and I take it away, like a never-ending circle. Apparently, that's part of the process involved in unlocking the power sleeping within me.

It's been almost a month since my uncle died, since we ended Kakuzu and Hidan and stripped the Akatsuki of two more members. Though I suspect that Deidara is still alive, if what Hidan said is any indication. He struck me as someone with no filter, so I took his slip to be the truth.

Still, that doesn't solve our larger problem. The Akatsuki are still out there, and with Naruto's new jutsu off-limits, I'm trying to make up for that on my own.

"Ciara."

I blink in surprise, looking around at the sound of his voice. "Itachi?" _It couldn't be. Could it?_

"Ciara."

But when I turn towards the voice, it turns out to only be a crow. _…A crow?_ I peer at the crow suspiciously, taking in the darkness of its feathers, and the red of its eyes. _…Wait, red?_

Reaching up towards the creature, I hold out my arm for it to land on. I don't mind if it cuts my skin a little, I'll heal quickly enough. I just want to know if I'm right. Could this really be one of Itachi's crows?

It lands carefully on my arm, its talons not digging in at all. "Itachi…?" It blinks at me as I tilt my head, mimicking me. "Is that you?" It looks at me with an intelligent gaze, making me believe that this really is one of Itachi's crows.

For a moment, I could swear that the crow's eyes take the shape of a Sharingan. Itachi's Sharingan. I've only seen it a few times, but I would know it anywhere. That crimson color, so much like, and yet unlike Sasuke's.

I sigh, looking to the sky. "Sasuke…where are you now? Are you still with Orochimaru? Or have you left to start hunting Itachi?" My eyes find the bird again, and honestly, the look it gives me makes me want to cry. It looks so calm, so…accepting. "You're not the person he thinks you are. I know it. I know that there's something else going on, I just don't know what it is or where to look. Itachi, please…don't lead him on like this. I don't want to lose either of you. Not again…"

The crow has to be Itachi, or at least, some kind of representation. It has to be, because a normal crow wouldn't be nuzzling me as though trying to comfort me. Its eyes wouldn't remind me of Itachi's eyes, its feathers of his dark hair.

…I miss him so much.

* * *

"Ciara!" Naruto comes barreling into the house as I'm packing my med kid in case I get another mission soon. I've been at the hospital on and off lately, since I think that Tsunade is trying to give me time to work on my own training. "Ciara!" Well, that, and deal with Roshi, the newest addition to the figures I see in my nightmares. I feel like I'm slowly going insane.

"I'm in my room!" I snap the clasps on my bag shut, fastening it tightly, just in case I end up upside-down for some reason. …What? It could happen.

The door of my room slams the rest of the way open as Naruto stands there, almost out of breath. "Granny Tsunade is putting together a mission to find Itachi and Sasuke!"

"Itachi and Sasuke?" But why would… "…She wants to find Itachi, so that we'll run into Sasuke? But he's with Orochimaru right now, isn't he?"

Naruto shakes his head. "The old snake's dead. Sasuke killed him."

"Sasuke…" I can't believe it. "He seriously killed Orochimaru?" I mean, it's not quite the outcome I expected, but at least it's not the worst case scenario. In fact, offing Orochimaru might be enough to win Sasuke some brownie points with Tsunade and the higher ups.

"Yeah, now come on, everyone's waiting! Granny says that she wants you to tell her everything you know about how Itachi thinks before we head out!"

 _They're going after Itachi…they're going to capture him and-_ I shake my head, not wanting to think about the worst case scenario right now. "Alright, fine, I'll come with you." I grab my chakra blades, concealed within long wrist-guards, then fasten my medical kit to my belts.

Once everything is in order, I grab Naruto, flickering us outside, before taking off down the north side of the mountain, the side facing the village. "So Sasuke really killed that old creep?" It's hard to imagine, and yet…not, at the same time.

"Yeah." Naruto's eyes sparkle with a dark light. "But he's still not coming back. He's after Itachi."

"Of course he is…" And it's something that I wish I could stop. "…I don't want them to fight. If they fight…" Then Itachi might let Sasuke kill him. Because I don't see any other way this could go down. I know that Itachi doesn't have it in him to kill his little brother, especially not when he's had ample opportunity to do so. "It'll end badly."

Naruto nods, expression darkening further. "Yeah, it's not gonna be good." Though I imagine that what he thinks is going to happen is vastly different to what I fear.

* * *

I push open the door to Tsunade's office, only to see Squad Seven and Squad Eight both waiting for us, along with Kakashi and Yamato. She must really be going all out for this mission. "I'm here, as requested."

"Good." Tsunade eyes me, frowning slightly. "You look ready to go somewhere."

"Well, considering what Naruto has told me, I expect that I will be going somewhere quite soon." And judging by the look on her face, sending me along wasn't part of the original plan. Well, I'm going to make it part of the plan, whether she likes it or not. "You want to know about Itachi, right?"

"That's right." Her eyes narrow at me. "But I never said that you were going on the mission."

"Well, me going on the mission is going to happen one way or another." I'd make sure of that. "Anyway, what is it that you want to know about my uncle? Well, I suppose that to be accurate, he was my uncle's best friend." But I've always extended the title to him as well.

"Now, now, settle down." Jiraiya puts his hands up, trying to placate both me and Tsunade from his place against the window. "Ciara, we just want you to tell us about how Itachi thinks, that's all. We need to find him in order to find Sasuke, after all."

"Yes, I assumed as much. You want to find and catch Itachi so that Sasuke will come running straight towards us." Something that will be much easier said than done. "Well, I guess that the question is whether you want the stereotypical 'he's an Akatsuki, so he's completely nuts and evil' spiel, or if you want to know what actually goes on in his head." Though even to me, there are some parts that are a total mystery. "So, which is it?"

Tsunade looks, for the first time in quite a while, like she wants to smack me on the head. "You little brat…"

"Alright, hold on." Thankfully, Jiraiya runs interference again. "How about you tell us what YOU know, rather than what we've already heard, hm? That way, we might learn something that we can use to find Itachi."

Tsunade is lucky that Jiraiya is here, otherwise I might have just shut my trap on principle. Normally, I wouldn't be so obstinate about this, but despite my attempts at training, the nightmares have been making me sad, angry, and irritable lately. "Fine. I'll tell you." Tell them all about one of the people I love the most. "Itachi is…a quiet and complicated person, always has been, and probably always will be. He tends to keep a lot of stuff bottled up, keep things to himself, but in my whole life…I can count on one hand the number of times he's lied to me, or purposely misled me. And that's including after he joined the Akatsuki."

Jiraiya frowns this time. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." I cross my arms and glare slightly at him. "And that's part of what I don't get. Why the hell did Itachi join the Akatsuki in the first place when he had me to look after?"

Now THAT shocks Tsunade. "What are you talking about?"

Sakura looks a little flabbergasted as well. "You never said anything about that!"

"Because it never came up!" Honestly, these people are starting to act like I should have started reporting everything I knew about Itachi, starting at age seven. "He and Shisui were always visiting me in the hospital after my family was murdered. They looked after me more than the staff did. They're the reason I started talking again, and why I haven't been in the psych ward for the last ten years. But it seemed like as soon as I'd recovered, the whole Uchiha Clan was killed, and Itachi came to visit me, saying he was sorry, and then leaving me his and Shisui's tanto, along with his ANBU mask. And then I didn't see him again until he and Kisame found me with Naruto."

Kakashi cuts in before anyone else has the chance. "You have his ANBU mask?"

"Yeah, of course I do." I glance back at him, eyes narrowing suspiciously. "It's one of the only things he left me before he disappeared. I keep it in my medical kit, just like how these two blades belonged to them." I stroke my fingers along the hilt of Itachi's tanto. "Is that a problem?"

There's nothing but silence, as though no one wants to answer me. Then, Tsunade sighs and shakes her head. "Why is it always either you or Naruto who makes things more complicated than they need to be?"

"Things are always more complicated than they look." I roll my eyes at the notion. "We're just good at exposing that. Anyway…you wanted to know about Itachi? What I remember of him when I was young was that he was quiet but affectionate, and he liked to see others smiling. He always used to make time, when he could, to come and visit me." And maybe… "It's something that he still does, even now."

THAT stuns the entire room. It seems that I'm really good at that. But it's not long before Tsunade is on her feet. "What do you mean he visits you even now!?"

"This morning, he sent a crow to check on me." It's not something that I'm ashamed of, so it's not something that I'm going to hide. "He does it sometimes, every couple of weeks or so. Maybe more often, but those are just the ones that I notice. I didn't piece it together until this morning, when the crow landed on my arm, and I saw Sharingan in its eyes. I suspected, but I never knew for sure, until now." He's still watching over me, even if he's not actively looking after me.

Tsunade glares at me, as though torn between wanting to scream, and wanting to bang her head against her desk. "In light of all of this, why do you think I should trust you with this mission?"

And THAT just about sets me off. "When did your trust in me enter this equation, exactly?" Maybe I should have refused to answer after all.

"It entered the equation when you started communicating with Itachi Uchiha!" Tsunade really doesn't seem to get it, it's kind of irritating, actually. "He's a rogue ninja! An S-Class criminal!"

"And before he was either of those things, he was part of my family." I shake my head at her, looking to Jiraiya for help. "Even after finding out what became of him, my loyalty hasn't wavered once. I continue to do my best to protect what I want to protect, even if that means standing at odds with Itachi. Because first and foremost, my loyalty belongs to Naruto. Then, to the others here in this village that I care about. And to the place that my own family has so long protected."

Naruto reaches over to grab my hand, smiling reassuringly at me as Tsunade twitches, finally, lowering her head. "…If I hadn't done research into your clan's psychology, I would think that you were covering for the Uchiha." She sighs, then groans with frustration. "Alright, now why exactly do you think I will let you go on this mission, and what is it that you hope to accomplish?"

"Simple." I've had this argument lined up for fifteen minutes. "What I look to get out of it is to protect Naruto, the opportunity to drag Sasuke home, and finally, the chance to finally wring some answers out of Itachi after eight years of being left in the dark. And as for what I can contribute to this mission…" I take a deep breath, my fists clenching. "To catch someone like Chi-Chi, you need to set the right kind of trap. And for that, you need the right kind of bait. What better bait than his little dragon?"

Jiraiya nods reluctantly. "You have a point there. If what you've said means anything, then you would be most likely to draw his attention. And if you're wrong, you and Naruto would be more than enough to draw him out." He means our tailed beasts, but I'm convinced that I'll be enough to draw my uncle out of hiding. And if nothing else, they'd better give me the chance to try. "Well, what do you think, Tsunade?"

Yeah, she really looks like she wants to hit something. Probably me, but I'm sure that she knows that wouldn't go too well. I doubt that she wants to hit a shield made of chakra-infused feathers. "…Very well, since I'll never hear the end of it, otherwise."

For a few seconds, I have no idea what to say. Then, I find myself being picked up and spun around by Naruto. "Alright! We're gonna go look for Sasuke!"

I roll my eyes and brace myself on Naruto's shoulders as he spins me around a few more times. "Alright, alright, don't get so excited. We still have to find those two first."

"Oh, right." He stops spinning, finally putting me down. "Guess I got ahead of myself, huh?"

"Yeah, no kidding." I look to the windows, where raindrops are dripping down the glass. "We'd better get a move on. The heavier the rain gets, the worse our chances of finding them."

Tsunade sighs, waving her hand dismissively at us. "Alright, go. Be ready to leave within the hour."

"Right!" Finally, a chance to see Sasuke and Itachi again. And I don't plan on wasting this chance.

* * *

Hanging out with Kakashi and Pakkun isn't exactly my idea of having a great time, but I suppose it's better than being left behind. "You're keeping an eye on me because of what I said about Itachi."

"No, I'm not." Kakashi jumps a branch ahead, scanning the area ahead. "I believe in you, and so do Lady Tsunade and Master Jiraiya. You just…have to understand the awkward position that this puts Lady Tsunade in, as Hokage. You're on the receiving end of contact from a rogue ninja. Those who look at that sort of thing and don't know your history, or what goes on in your head…well, they would find it to be very suspicious."

Not what I wanted to hear, but I'll take it. "You know where my loyalties are, Kakashi."

"Yes, I know." He waits for me to catch up, then pats me on the head and ruffles my hair. "You just have a rather unfortunate history with the Uchiha Clan is all."

I roll my eyes at the suggestion. "Yes, unfortunate, as in they keep running off on me, damn it." This kind of feels like a big joke being played on me. "I swear, they must think that this is funny or something, because I feel like they're laughing at me." If they think that I'm enjoying this game of Hide and Go Seek, they're dead wrong.

"They're not laughing at you." He jumps ahead again, picking up the pace as he scans ahead. "They're just extremely independent."

"No kidding…" Though I could do with them being a little less so. Especially since it's making them almost impossible to find. "I don't sense Sasuke or Itachi in this area."

"Alright, then let's-" Kakashi's words are cut off by a massive pillar of light, shaped…almost like a person with a sheet thrown over them. "What the hell was that?"

I resist the urge to groan as I feel the tiniest hints of the blast wave in the air. "An explosion." And where an explosion is, you can usually find Naruto or Sasuke. Or the Akatsuki. Either of those ways, it's probably in our best interest to go check it out. "I've never seen one that massive before, though. And there's only one person I can think of who would be able to set off something that big. Which means…"

"That Deidara might not have been killed after all." Kakashi raises his headband, exposing his Sharingan and taking a look at the slowly fading figure of light. "Well, well…"

"I take it that the chakra signature matches?" It's not like it's a hard one for a Sharingan to look at. The thing must be ten kilometers wide, and three times as high. "…I take it that he's dead NOW, at least?"

"Most likely." Kakashi covers his eye back up, looking warily down at Pakkun. "Well, time to go investigate."

"Right." Pakkun glances between the two of us, choosing to hop up my arm and plant himself on my shoulder. "Let's go!"

"Alright." Not that I mind having Pakkun on my shoulder, after all, I know that the explosion was a pretty good distance away, and that it would be better for him to save his strength for running around later. Still, as I take off at a sprint, with Kakashi now trailing just behind, I glance at Pakkun. "You want to keep an eye on me now, too?"

He grumbles quietly at me. "Well, you ARE the most valuable target here, apart from Naruto. So of course we're keeping an eye on you."

"I see." I shouldn't have expected any different, really. Naruto and I ARE the high risk targets on this mission. And then, of course, there's Hinata and her eyes, Kakashi's eye, Yamato's interesting connection to the First Hokage's elemental ninjutsu. Kiba and Shino are each from clans as well, putting them in danger to a lesser degree. And of course, Sakura has a medical specialty, as do I. Really, the only person not in any relative danger is Sai.

As ninja, we're all in danger to a certain extent. Which is probably why Tsunade acquiesced in the first place.

* * *

Ten kilometers…almost wiped clean off the map. And at the epicenter, there's a giant crater, along with the lingering sensation of both Sasuke and Deidara's chakra. Along with their scents, and those of three others, his teammates.

"Damn it!" Naruto curses as he kicks at the ground. "The trail seriously went cold!?"

"Sorry." Kakashi looks frustratedly at the crater. "There's no scent trail to follow from here."

"Which means that Sasuke was either completely annihilated in the explosion, or used a transportation technique to escape the blast." Yamato sure has a way of laying things out in black and white.

Kiba's chakra spikes as he closes his eyes and begins to focus. I can see his nose twitching slightly, which means that he's probably trying to track Sasuke by scent anyway. "It was probably the latter." His eyes open, and his chakra fades back to normal. "I've made my sense of smell even keeper than a dog's. I think I've found Sasuke."

"Point the way." There's nothing more to be said. We need to get on Sasuke's trail now, before we go and lose it again.

"Alright, let's go!" Kiba hops on Akamaru, pointing him east, and then taking off with the rest of us in hot pursuit. "Judging by his scent, he's stopped moving."

Probably resting after having to fight Deidara. While I'm sure that Sasuke has gotten a lot stronger the last few years, a fight with Deidara is one where, as Gaara proved, no one escapes unscathed if they fight him one on one.

Every step, every leap, is one closer to Sasuke, and maybe to Itachi as well. It's exhilarating, it gives me hope, and it makes my heart ache a little. I want to see them again. I want to make sure that they're safe. And most importantly, I want to stop either of them from killing the other, and figure out just what the hell is going on here!

"Damn it!" Kiba's nose twitches again. "Shoot, it looks like Sasuke's on the move!"

"Then we gotta hurry and get after him!" Naruto's pace quickens, as does my own as we follow after Kiba, the rest of our group following close behind. "He's going after Itachi!"

"Hold on, something's wrong!" Kiba brow furrows in a way that I don't like. "Sasuke's scent is becoming more diffuse now. It's like it's scattering out in every direction all at the same time!"

Kakashi nods. "He sensed our movements. It's some kind of strategic countermeasure. He must have a skilled sensory ninja on his team."

"Then tracking him by scent is going to be next to impossible." I bite my lip, silently cursing. "Our search radius has just increased."

Kiba shakes his head. "The scent is spreading too far, and our coms aren't long-range. I'm the only one who can track him, I just don't know which scent to follow. What do we do?"

"I'm gonna fine him, even if I have to search every blade of grass! I'll do whatever it takes! Just watch!" Naruto's clone horde comes out in full force, before scattering out into the forest all around us.

"Good plan." And maybe I can contribute something as well. "Kakashi, I want to stop for a minute. I have something that just might work to help us narrow down Sasuke's location." Not that I've ever tried it for this purpose, or over this great a distance, but it couldn't hurt to try, right?

"Alright, what is it?" Kakashi stops as I do, the rest of the team following suit, save for Naruto's clones.

"What are we stopping for!?" Naruto turns around to glare at me. "We need to find Sasuke, and fast!"

"I know that!" Touching the trunk of the closest tree, I close my eyes and turn my back to it, sitting down against the hard surface. "Just…let me concentrate for a bit." I know the feel of both Sasuke and Itachi's chakras, so if I focus, and they're close enough, I should be able to find them. At least, in theory. That's what one of the scrolls said. Well, more like it implied it. But if I'm going to contribute anything in terms of tracking, I'm going to have to trust in the words of my ancestors.

I take a deep breath, sinking back against the tree as I calm and will myself into an almost sleep-like trance. It's different, doing it in the air as opposed to the water. In the water, I have to remain conscious of myself at all times, otherwise I would run out of breath too quickly. With air around me, and nothing to dampen noise, I have to make an effort to sink further, without the cushioning effect of the water.

 _Focus…and then let yourself drift away…_

The ebb and the flow. Every tree breathes, including the one I sit against. The key…is to breathe along with the tree, to feel its flow, its life force. I must let it teach me how to breathe as it does, to feel as it does. Stretch out my roots, as it does its own.

My eyes flash open as a very familiar, warm chakra touches my own. Not the one I was looking for, which has only left a faint trail behind, leading towards the north. "Sasuke is heading north." My eyes dart towards the west, however. Itachi…

"Alright, then let's go!" Kiba and Akamaru race off towards the north, the group turning on heel to take off again.

Kakashi, however, stays with me. "What else did you sense?" His dark eye locks on me, staring right through me.

To bullshit him and sneak off, or not to bullshit him, and take him along with me. "…Itachi." Better not to leave him in the dark, or he really will have cause to call my loyalty into question. "He's nearby. He's not moving. I think he knows that we're here." Which means…that he probably wants to talk to me. "I'm going to go and see him. You can come, but you have to stay back and not interfere."

Kakashi remains silent just a little longer than I would like. "Fine, but at the first sign of him trying something, I'll have to step in."

"I know." And I would expect nothing less of him. "But it won't. Itachi wouldn't ever seriously try to hurt me." Maybe fight me to test my strength, or just to see how much I've grown, but he would never hurt me. He has no reason to. Not even if the Akatsuki tell him so.

And maybe it's naive of me, but I trust him, even if no one else does.


	23. Little Dragon

**Okay, just to drive the point home, I'm going to start with a P.O.V. that I haven't done in a while. But, I do hope that it will be nice and impactful before everything goes to hell. Also, I'll be including the Six-Tails arc after this one, so…you're all gonna hate it.**

 **And, you're kinda half-right Chaos. But this time, there's no genjutsu involved.**

 **I have, however, left you all a cliffhanger, so enjoy that. Oh, and you can yell at me later.**

* * *

Itachi's P.O.V.

 _She's coming._ It has been a long time since I last felt this power, the one that could reach across the land this way. Ten years, in fact. And I remember the man who used it very well. Taller than I am now, with soft, chocolate brown hair, and emerald eyes that glittered when he laughed. His smile was kind and bright and honest. "Lord Ryouta…" _Your daughter has become strong. Strong enough, I hope, to rise above the pain I'm about to cause her._

Now, it's that daughter that I wait for, standing alone in a clearing. It's the last time I'll see her. And maybe it's selfish to want to see her one last time, but she deserves to know…something, at least, before I go. I can no longer see without my Sharingan, at least, nothing more than a sea of gray shapes.

And she's making no secret of her location. No, her chakra is burning brightly, like a beacon. But perhaps that's simply because I know that bright white chakra well. It's just like her father's. And so is her smile. Her eyes. Her heart. And I can only hope that she continues to smile, despite…

"Chi-Chi!" _Little Dragon…_ Her footsteps approach, and each one tells me precisely how quickly she's insisting on racing towards me.

I'm not certain if it's naivete, or instincts that consistently tell her that despite my reputation, that I mean her no harm, but whatever it is, it would appear that it hasn't waned in the slightest. Not with the way she barrels into my arms. "Ciara…" She feels…heavier than she did a few months ago, a little taller too. "You've grown." She is fifteen and a half, after all. It would be strange if she hadn't.

"Of course I have…" Her arms wrap around me, squeezing me tightly. "Itachi…?" Her hands appear to be searching for something, no that there's anything to find. "…You've lost weight." Ah…the illness. "Itachi, what's happened to you?" Her chakra surrounds me, and I know well that she's examining me.

"Stop." She shouldn't do such a thing, it will only hurt her. "It doesn't matter."

"Like hell, it doesn't!" Her chakra flares brighter, and I can feel her attempts at healing my body. It's sweet, but futile. The illness is simply too deep-set. And even if it was not, I have very little time left, anyway. "What have you done to yourself, Itachi!?"

"It is of no consequence." Not when there are far more important things to discuss. "You are…searching for Sasuke, aren't you?"

"Of course I am! We all are!" Her hands press to my chest, and I drop my eyes towards her, just making out the faintest outline, before pain ripples in my eyes as the gray haze slowly clears, bringing her into proper focus. At least, for now. "And you as well, but the two of you insist on being stubborn!" She looks as though she's not far from crying. "You two…you're too fucking stubborn to just come home…"

"I could not return to the Leaf, even if I desired to." Which, in all honesty, I do. "…I slaughtered my own clan." Which is why it is pointless to even entertain such notions. I would never be allowed to return, not even if she protected me, and granted me those same rights and provisions that her clan has always had.

Her fingers work open my clock, pressing firmly to my chest as the warmth spreads further. She appears so determined. "…Did you really slaughter the Uchiha Clan? And for no reason but to test your own power?"

 _So she knows…_ "If I did? What would you do?"

She glares quite openly at me, despite Kakashi in the trees, watching our entire exchange. "I would call bullshit, and ask you why Itachi Uchiha, one of the kindest, gentlest, and most peaceful people I've ever met, would do something so completely contradictory to his own character. Because that's not something that you suddenly decide to do at the drop of a hat."

She's…perceptive, far more than most her age. Part of her special gifts, I would assume. Her father was the same way. A man whose eyes it was difficult to pull any wool over. The man whose attempts to keep the peace, ultimately resulted in his death. Had I managed to prevent that when I first entered the ANBU…then perhaps things would not have escalated as they did. But for now, there are things…that it is simply safer for her not to know.

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

 _This is bad, really, really bad. Itachi should be at least thirty pounds heavier than this, and there's…so much damage inside. How did it get so bad, so quickly? Doesn't he know how to take care of himself? It'll take me hours to even start treating this!_ "You're an idiot. I hope that you know that."

He stays quiet, so I grit my teeth and pump more chakra into him. "Seriously, I know that you're supposed to be a genius, but you're amazingly STUPID sometimes. That, or you have a death wish." Which…considering the situation, might be entirely possible. "…Is that why you're doing this? Making Sasuke hate you, chase you, and try to kill you?"

There's so much that doesn't make sense to me. "And what about Shisui? The two of you stopped visiting me at the same time, and then I was told that he was dead. YOU told me that he was dead as well. So why…what really happened to him? There's no way that you would have lifted a finger against him, there's no way!"

There's something that I'm missing, there has to be. There's something that I don't know that would tie together everything that I've heard had happened, and everything that I know to be true. "What's the missing piece, Itachi!?"

For the first time in a long time, he smiles at me, and his Sharingan fades away, leaving his eyes strangely blank. "Nothing that you should worry about. Simply stay safe. That's all I want."

"Itachi…" _His eyes…_ "Are you…blind?" Without his Sharingan, he can't see to quite focus on my face. His gaze is just a little…off. _Is this the price that an Uchiha pays for their extraordinary eyesight?_

"…Nearly." But even so, his smile, though faint, does not disappear. "But again, it's nothing you need to worry about. It would be best if you simply went home. Leave Sasuke to Naruto."

"What!?" He's going to keep me in the dark!? "I don't know what kinds of things you said to Sasuke to make him hate you, to make him forget what kind of person you are, but this isn't like you!" I may have been young when he disappeared, but even a child knows a good person from a bad one. Better than adults, sometimes. "You've never lied to me, never tried to mislead me. So stop giving me the silent treatment! And let me treat your eyes, at least!" I raise my hands to his temples, blasting his optic nerves with as much healing chakra as I feel safe using.

"I'm sorry." He cups the back of my head, kissing my forehead softly. "But there won't be a next time. Take care of her, Kakashi. And see that Naruto does as well."

"Itachi!?" _No, he can't mean-_

"Goodbye, my Little Dragon. Ciara…" And right from within my reach, he disappears, his chakra vanishing as well as he flickers away.

"No! Itachi!" I reach out a moment too late, feeling a little dazed as even the image of him slips right through my fingers. "Dammit!" No…

A familiar hand touches my shoulder, and I glance over my shoulder to see Kakashi. "Come on. We need to rendezvous with the others. Pakkun just got word, they're being delayed by one of the Akatsuki."

"…" Right now, I hate to say it, but a single Akatsuki doesn't matter to me. Not when Itachi is clearly racing off to his death, and forcing Sasuke to be his executioner. "Did you know Itachi?"

"Ciara?" He frowns at me, letting his hand fall away. "…Yes, I knew him. We were in the ANBU together."

That…makes sense. "Did you know Shisui as well?"

"I did. Though only in passing. He was…a fearsome, loyal, and kind shinobi." Yes, Kakashi's words are precisely how I remember Shisui. Just…without the fearsome bit.

"Yeah, he was." But that still doesn't answer any of the thousands of questions swirling around in my head. But maybe…just maybe…I can get the answer to one of them. "How did he die?" I turn to face Kakashi, expression calm, as that's what I'll need if I'm to find Sasuke and Itachi before it's too late. "Yell me what Itachi didn't."

Kakashi's eye flicks to the trees, before returning to me. "Seems like even if he doesn't lie to you, he doesn't tell you everything you want to know."

"I didn't lie, and neither has he." At least, not to me. "He's just stubborn about keeping secrets from me. Now tell me…do you know what happened to Shisui?"

Kakashi's gaze darkens, and he nods. "From what I heard, before the clan was destroyed…it was suicide. He drowned himself"

"Shisui…drowned himself?" I know that his name means still water, but still…that's not just ironic, it's stupid. "…For being from of a clan famed for producing geniuses, it seems like my Uchiha boys are extremely dumb. And they also like to keep a lot of secrets from me. Secrets that they SHOULDN'T keep." Which means that when I find them, I'm going to wring both Sasuke and Itachi's necks. Because someone needs to tell them that they're being idiots, and it might as well be me.

"Go ahead and go back to the others, I'll be fine on my own." I sit myself down in the grass, before lying down on my back, letting my fingers curl into the fresh, fragrant green blades.

"You know that I can't do that. We need to go back to them together." As I close my eyes, I see the faint image of Kakashi leaning over me. "Now let's get a move on."

"No." I take a deep breath, letting my soul sink into the earth. "First, I have to find them." Unfortunately, considering how fast Itachi is, there's every chance that he's already out of range. In which case, I'll just need to try harder, look deeper, and try to extend the radius of this ability some more. Not an easy task, and one that I wish I could accomplish faster, since every second that I waste, could be another second towards Sasuke and Itachi finally meeting. And I know that it's going to go badly, no matter what the outcome is. "After all, our mission is still to track down Sasuke, isn't it?"

"…That's true." I hear Kakashi sigh, and sit down in the grass. "Fine. Track them. I suppose that there's no point in us being delayed as well."

"Exactly, now I need to concentrate. And for that…I need quiet." Three years ago, I would never have talked to Kakashi like that. But now…well, I'm frustrated and scared, and people could die if I fail. There's a lot more riding on this for me, more than anyone else.

There's a river…lots of animals. Every one of them gives off such tremendous life force. If only people realized that, then maybe they wouldn't be so quick to dismiss nature. The plants breathe and sing, and the animals speak to each other. It's all a vast, interconnected web, and one that we often forget that we are a part of as well.

Sinking…deeper and deeper, into a warm embrace like once I haven't felt in years. It's familiar and foreign at the same time. Both small, and endlessly vast. Energies from a million sources, all intertwined and connected. Everything is kept…in perfect balance. A fragile balance, but balance nonetheless.

Even life and death have a balance. But…I would rather not see more death. Not prematurely so. I've already seen plenty of it, and it never becomes any easier.

 _Itachi…Sasuke…where are you?_ My search is turning into minutes, I just know it. But how long, precisely, I don't know. If I did, I would probably be horrified. But somewhere in the depths of my mind, I know that rushing will only slow me down, in the end. However, I am still sorely tempted to try, anyway.

 _There…_ A huge surge of chakra, two signatures, both very familiar, and both a long ways away. Itachi covered a lot of distance, more than I expected. "I found you…" I open my eyes slowly, weakening my connection to the world as I sit up. But I can keep one thing clear in my mind. The direction in which I felt their chakra. "Kakashi…go and get the others. If we both double back, we won't make it in time. I need you to take everyone twenty-five kilometers to the west of here. Meet me there, and I'll do my best to stall for time. I should be able to make it." I hope.

"You know that I can't let you go on your own." I knew that he would say that. "We need to head back to the others and regroup."

"And if we both go, we'll lose them. I'm faster than you, Kakashi, I can make it. And I'm strong, so even if the Akatsuki show up, at can stall for time at the very least, or I can grab Itachi and Sasuke and fly out of there." Personally, I would rather do the latter, even if they both try to fight me on it. Or worse, fight each other. In which case, I will promptly drop them both on their heads, yell at them, and proceed to pick them back up again. Well, maybe gently, since Itachi clearly still needs medical treatment.

Kakashi clearly doesn't like it. But I know that I've made good points. "…Take Pakkun with you."

"Really?" I don't see how the dog is going to help, since I'm pretty sure that is push comes to shove, I can make more noise than the little guy ever could. And it's not like I need him to track them by scent right now. But…I suppose that if it'll get Kakashi off my back, I'll do it. "Fine. I'll take Pakkun." Though the little guy is going to be absolutely useless if it turns out that there WILL be a fight.

"Right, then let's go!" Pakkun wastes no time in hopping onto my shoulder as I get to my feet. "But if things get hairy, we're getting out of there."

He can think that, if he likes. It doesn't matter to me. "Kakashi, be sure to bring everyone as quickly as you can. I don't know how long I'll be able to keep the situation contained." And as tiny shockwaves make the ground underneath us tremble, I know that there's not much time. "I have to go!" I remove my headband and my ribbon, letting my hair splay out as feathers shoot out around my ears, and wings burst from my back. It's the only way I'll make it there in time, after all.

"Fly quickly, and fly safely." He steps back, out of range of my wings. A smart move. "I'll be along as quickly as I can. And whatever you do, don't allow yourself to be captured by the Akatsuki."

"I wasn't planning on it." No, if the Akatsuki want me, they're going to have to fucking work for it. Because I refuse to just lie down and die because they say to. That would leave me unable to protect Naruto from them.

Still, there's no time to be wasted, so I turn on heel and run, letting the wings flap and carry me into the air, gaining altitude and speed as I head west. It's not looking good, there's a thunderstorm brewing in that direction. That will make it needlessly difficult to fly. And I don't have time to waste going around it.

"So, you mind explaining to me just how you did that?" Pakkun's claws dig lightly into my shirt, holding on tight for the ride. "I've never seen this kind of tracking before."

Of course he hasn't, it hardly surprises me. "That's because the people who used it almost died out completely ten years ago." Everyone…except for me. "It's complicated to explain from start to finish, but essentially…I let my chakra flow out into the world, and the world returns the favor by letting its energy flow into me. And by tapping into the energy of the world, I can…feel the things going on around me. Life forces are easy to pick out, but chakra signatures, even more so. It's…the intensity of them that makes them trackable through this method. But I'm not very good at it, and it seems that the limits of my range are a twenty-five kilometer radius." It's not that big, not yet. At least, if what that scroll said was any indication…

* * *

 _I've been through one scroll after another, trying to find as much as I can on the dragons. And I've just hit the gold mine. Well, not literally, but I know where to get to the gold mine from the lake. But anyway, I'm getting side-tracked. What's important is that I've found the scrolls. It took no small amount of chakra, and more than a few drops of blood to open the seal, but that's fine. I'd pay a bigger price than that to get at my family's secret scrolls._

 _"The Soul of the Dragon…" Perfect, it's exactly what I was looking for. It details the techniques involved in slowly unlocking the ability to project a dragon's spirit from their human body. And it also details the abilities gained along the way._

 _The only problem…it's going to require hours upon hours of meditation every single day. Yoga twice a day is one thing, but…this 'communing with nature' sounds like it's going to be difficult, at best. There's a lot of diagrams and notes detailing just what sort of connection I'm looking for. And though I'm sure that it's a relatively safe process, training to connect to that much energy just seems…rather daunting._

 _Of course, after reading the scroll through a couple of times, and being more than a little stunned at the depth and complexity of the contents, the only thing for it, really, is to try it out. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?_

 _"Alright…" I get to my feet, weaving my way to the middle of the library, where I can make good use of the wide open space there._

 _Judging by what's written in the scroll, it'll be best if I lie down for this. I have to achieve a sense of inner calm, so…why not make my body feel like I'm about to fall asleep? If I do that, then maybe my mind will follow along._

 _"Breathe…" I take a deep breath, staring at the decorated ceiling. I take another, and another, trying my best to allow my body to relax, and my gaze to wander. According to the scrolls, putting myself into a trance is only necessary in the early stages, to make myself accustomed to feeling the energy around me. Once I can feel it, there will be no need to relax, I'll simply have to…reach out and touch it?_

 _And slowly, ever so slowly…I feel myself begin to sink into the floor, as though I'm being swallowed up by the world. But I have no fear. I am not allowed to have fear. Not now. Not when it's so important that I master this._

 _Well, after I figure it out, first._

 _"…" I can feel different, like…there's energy all around me, but it's all bright, yet muddled, sharp, and yet indistinct. It's…hard to describe. There's a lot of it, and it's all very…familiar, and yet not. It's… "Ugh!"_

 _I sit up, grabbing the scroll again and unrolling it again. "Damn it…where's that section on feeling energy again?" The scroll begins to unravel so far that the end of it falls off my lap and rolls across the floor. Helpful, as I pull sections of the scroll across my lap, examining them once more._

 _My fingers fly across the page, forcing my eyes to read every single word. "…Here we are…let's see…" It says…that the sensory radius starts immediately around the body, but grows larger with time, practice, and the amount of chakra poured into the technique. It's usually used as a tool for pushing the development of the full set of abilities further, but in itself can be used as a sensory technique, albeit a dangerous one, as it requires that someone trustworthy watch over the body of the one using it while they are in the trance-like state. For although the awareness is heightened, the connection to the world is not so easily, or so quickly broken. It increases the speed and range of sensing others, but decreases physical reaction time drastically. The mind moves faster than the body._

 _That's all well and good, since I have enough people that I trust, and that I'm with most of the time that can look after my body during the implementation of this technique, as well as during the use of the larger ability as a whole. Because that's the catch. The senses or the spirit leaves the body during these sorts of techniques, leaving the human shell vulnerable, while the powerful spirit self is occupied. It's one of the reasons that the dragons have always collected family around them, to protect their bodies when they cannot._

 _That said, here in the safety of the library, I'm not really in danger of being attacked. This is the perfect place to train and test myself, without fearing the consequences of what could happen if I did this alone and exposed to the enemy._

 _Sighing, I lie down once more, letting my arms fall to my sides as I stare up at the ceiling once more, before closing my eyes. "Breathe…"_

* * *

So far, I've trusted Kakashi with watching over me while I perform the risky form of tracking. But now…now I'm on my own, and there's no way that Pakkun would be able to defend me if the worst came to pass, so I have to keep hold of the feelings from when I was in that trance, and follow my instincts towards Sasuke and Itachi.

Not that it's going to be difficult to do that, because as I soar into the sky, wings keeping me aloft over a hundred feet off the ground, I can see flashes of light in the distance, along with what looks like a giant cluster of lightning bolts. Not good… Lightning can only mean one thing. Sasuke. And if that's Sasuke, then it means that the two of them are already in battle. And that means that there is only going to be so much that I can do to stop them from hurting each other any worse than they've already done.

Red, a giant red…person? Half a person? It rises out of the ground, I think, to stand against the lightning. If that's the case, then it's got to belong to Itachi. _At least he's okay, for now…_ Though how long that remains the case…I don't know.

The huge eight-headed white serpent is another reason for concern. Well, for about ten seconds, anyway. Even at over fifteen kilometers away, and making damn good time in my opinion, I can see the colossal forms doing battle, and it looks like Itachi is lopping the heads off that monstrosity two at a time. Orochimaru, it has to be…I guess that Sasuke didn't kill him as effectively as we thought. Though it would be just like that creepy snake to not want to stay dead.

 _Chick, be careful, we do not know what sort of battle we are flying into._

 _I'd say that it's fairly clear. Orochimaru is pulling some kind of from beyond the grave shit, and Itachi is giving him a run for his money._ Then again, maybe I'm just biased in favor of my uncle. But it sure looks like Itachi is winning.

 _Yes, however…_ He takes a measure of control, the old bird forcing my gaze down towards the ruins of the fortress surrounding the battle. _It seems that one of your Uchiha has unleashed the black flames of Amaterasu. Be certain not to touch them, for they will burn whatever they are cast upon._

 _Right…don't touch the fire, got it._ Frankly, that should just be common sense. Even if I'm resistant to fire, even more so thanks to Suzaku, I generally still don't feel like pushing my luck is a good thing. I'll only roll through flames if they're my own, if they're weak, or if I absolutely have to.

But even as I approach the battle, only five kilometers left to go, the bundle of white snake falls, sucked into… _Is that a gourd? What the hell is Itachi DOING?_

 _Using a powerful weapon, the Sword of Totsuka. It is a sealing weapon._

I raise an eyebrow at the sight. _And you know this, how?_

Suzaku chuckles softly. _I am old, Chick, I have seen many things. And when you are like me, it is important to take an interest in those things that could be used against you. Methods of sealing, for example._

 _Yeah, I guess so._ In hindsight, it makes sense. Especially if you look at what was done with me and Naruto. _Do you think that the battle is over now?_

 _…Most likely. I can sense only the bare minimum of chakra coming from the both of them. We should hurry, they will likely need medical attention. Though, I fear that your uncle may be beyond even my help._

 _WHAT!?_ No, it can't be. Itachi is not going to die. _If the two of them are out of chakra, then that means that they can't fight anymore. I can stop them!_

 _Perhaps…but the young man is ill, you sensed it as well as I. He is at Death's door, and is welcoming it._

 _NO!_ I can't lose him, not Itachi, not again. I can't keep losing people. If I do, I…I… My heart nearly stops when I see the giant red form unravel and disappear. _Itachi's out of chakra. DAMN IT!_

Suzaku's wings disappear as I land on some rubble nearby, coming in for a rough landing as I leap over the giant pieces of stone, sprinting the last hundred meters. "ITACHI!" He's with Sasuke, I can see them both clearly, even without Suzaku's eyes. "ITACHI!" He can't die, I won't let him!

For the first time in three years, I come face to face with familiar onyx eyes, as skid to a stop and catch a crumpling Itachi in my arms. _Sasuke…_


	24. Tears Become Rain

**I know, I was evil last chapter. And this chapter is just a smidge shorter than usual, but really, there's not much more to be added, otherwise it would be less impactful. So, take it how you will, it's not a pretty chapter.**

 **Oh, and bored? ...the answer is badly.**

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

"Itachi!" I lay him on the ground, pressing my ear to his chest as I hear his heart giving out. "NO!" I sit up quickly, focusing a vast amount of chakra into my hands, and pressing down on his chest, pumping hard as I shoot chakra into his heart.

He's a mess. There are bruises everywhere, cuts still bleeding, one particularly vicious gash in his leg… And most alarmingly, there's blood dripping from his mouth, the flow now sluggish, and the edges drying and cracking. His eyes…they can't see me now. They could barely see me before, but now… "Please, don't go!" _I have to save him, I have to…_

Another pump, and I take in a deep breath, making just a couple of signs, before breathing out and blowing the air into Itachi's lungs. His body is so damaged that it's a miracle he's held out this long. But the Uchiha have always been a stubborn lot. I know that. I know that…

 _Chick…_ A dull warmth flows through me, as though trying to comfort me. _I'm sorry…_

"No! I can save him!" _What's the point of existing if I can't even save the people I love? What's the point!? It's all I exist to do._

 _…There are still those that you can save. But your uncle…it is too late, and it is by his own will._

"Well, this is my will, and I say otherwise!" I press down harder, feeling his ribs cracking under the pressure as I try to pump his heart back to life, alternating between it and his lungs. There's no response, but I'm not going to give up. There's an eight minute window, and I still have time. I still…

I pump and pump and pump, over and over, never stopping, always keeping up the same rhythm. If I just keep going, then maybe…just maybe…

Water drips onto my hands as I press into Itachi's ribs, falling faster as the seconds tick by heedlessly, leaving me with nothing but the need to fight fiercely as his heart refuses to restart. "No…you can't…don't leave me…" I bite my lip, the pain not enough to snap me out of this horrible nightmare. "Itachi…"

 _…Chick…I am sorry…_ Suzaku's warmth wraps around my shivering frame. _He is gone…_

"No…" The tears flow faster as my hands clench in his dark gray shirt. "He can't…" It hurts. My chest hurts. It's hard to breathe. And it feels as though a piece of my heart is being ripped away. Another piece…

My eyes drift to the necklace he wears, the three silver rings around tiny rubies. It was a birthday present. I got it for him on one of the very few trips that I made into the village when I was little. I was four, but it was pretty, and the stones reminded me of his eyes. So I asked Dad if I could get it for Itachi for his birthday. I got Shisui a matching one for his as well.

 _Itachi…_

Water continues to fall, around me, not just from me. Rain. Again. I…I'm really starting to hate the rain. It rains when someone dies. It rains when someone I love dies. It rained that night. It rained when the old man died, when Asuma died, and now…

"Itachi…why…? Why would you leave me alone? Why now? Why…" There are so many things that I want to ask him, so many questions I wanted him to answer. There's so much I don't know, and now… "You idiot…you damn fucking idiot…why are you smiling…?" Nothing about this is funny. Nothing at all.

I remove my hands from his chest, turning them over to see them covered in blood. Itachi's blood. It's red, just like his Sharingan was. Just like it will never be again. "I'm sorry…" I failed, I failed…in the one thing I was supposed to do. Protect my family. I couldn't protect them, couldn't protect Itachi.

My fingers move on their own, reaching around Itachi's neck and unclasping the necklace. I clasp it around my own neck, letting it hang there, diluted drops of blood dripping from it to my crimson shirt with the rain.

My lip trembles as I reach a hand towards his face, caressing his cheek, and then moving to his eyes, closing them gently. "I'm sorry…I'm so…so sorry…" I check for a pulse one last time. Nothing. And the eight minutes are most definitely up. So I lean towards him, kissing his forehead as tears drip into his dark hair.

My eyes, swimming with even more tears that slowly course down my cheeks, turn towards the ruined wall displaying the Uchiha crest. Sitting against it, barely conscious, is Sasuke. Him, at least, I can save. _Itachi…please forgive me…_

I rise to my feet, moving to Itachi's other side, and reaching for my cousin. He's so different now, and yet…the same. He's taller, his shoulders a little broader, and he's grown into the aristocratic features that made him look years older at only thirteen. There's no one who knew him who wouldn't recognize him.

I lay him on the ground, prompting his eyes to flicker open, moving slowly to rest tiredly, almost dazedly on me. "…Who…"

"Don't speak." I rest my hands on his bare chest, letting chakra return to my palms. "You need to save your strength." That, and I would rather not talk right now. It…hurts too much.

He's pretty messed up inside. And judging by our surroundings, it must have been quite the battle. Not a long one, but a mighty one, nonetheless. I wish it hadn't. I wish that it had just been a brotherly squabble, one that ended with both of them laughing, or ignoring each other, or…something…anything other than this.

He's low on chakra, so I remedy that as well, pumping him full of my own as his injuries close up. It's a slow, steady process, but it's working. Sasuke is healing. He'll be fine. I just need another half hour or so to tend to all of his injuries, and he'll be as good as new. And then…we can take him home. We can take them both home.

I'm not naive. I know that there's no way that the higher ups would allow Itachi to be buried in the village. But that's of no consequence. There's a better place for him. I only wish that I could put Shisui there as well. Or better yet, that I didn't have to put anyone there at all.

But life is not kind to me.

As I lean down, pressing my hands apart, and tending to a wider range of his injuries, my soaking wet hair brushes against him, and he twitches a little. "Who are you?"

"…It doesn't matter." All that matters right now is that I fix what damage I can.

"…Are you with the Akatsuki?" I would say that he doesn't know when to shut up, but I know that he does. He just doesn't fucking want to.

"No." I press a hand hard into his stomach, feeling at the organ damage there, and infusing it with as much chakra as I can safely do. After all, the human body can only take so much. "I'm not with the Akatsuki."

As I feel the chakra I've poured into him move, I make the mistake of looking into his eyes. No longer onyx, but ruby red, they narrow at me, drifting down my body, and stopping at my stomach. "…Like the sun in a blizzard…"

Shit. My hands twitch, but I dutifully continue my task as I look away from him. "You shouldn't push yourself. Using those eyes of yours is only going to drain the chakra I gave you."

"Fairy." The nickname makes me twitch again. "You came with them."

It's futile, I know, but I try to play dumb anyway. "Fairy? That's a weird name. I promise you that I'm not a fairy." And neither do I sound quite the same as I did when we were kids. Not to mention looking different. But if I make it sound like a joke, maybe he'll forget about the color of my chakra.

Hah. Not likely. This is Sasuke, after all.

"Hn." His eyes stay fixed on me, I can feel it. "Only one person has chakra like yours."

As he starts to sit himself up, I push him back down. "That doesn't matter. Right now, I need to heal you." My voice is flatter than I remember, but maybe that's just because it's being muffled by the rain. Or maybe it's because Itachi is dead. Or maybe because I'm tired. Or maybe…

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

She's crying. Crying for Itachi. Why? Why would she cry for someone who killed so many people? For someone who was part of an organization that's trying to kill her as well? And if she's crying for him, then why is she healing me? I…killed him.

I don't buy it. I don't buy her brush-offs. She can deny it all she likes, but I know her chakra. It's the kind of unique chakra signature that can't be forgotten. Not even after years without meeting.

But she's taller, her hair is dark, and so are her eyes. She looks almost nothing like she did before. She's a woman now, not a scrawny, tiny little girl. But her hands…though bigger now, are still the same. Touching to heal.

Emerald eyes flick back towards me, and she sighs, before wiping the tears from her face. Then, she leans over me, pressing her lips to my forehead. It has been a long time, but the sensation of chakra flowing there is familiar. She's healing my eyes again. "Go to sleep. You'll heal faster that way."

I would, but my mind is…blank. There's just…nothing. I'm tired, but too tired to sleep. Mentally and physically exhausted. "…Ciara." No matter how tired I am, I won't let her deny this.

She sighs, the glow around her hands growing a little brighter. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" I can feel my body knitting itself back together, it's strange. I can't feel anything around us, but my awareness of my own body is extremely acute. Karin has an impressive talent, to be sure, but this is a medical ninja who knows the human body inside and out.

I blink some falling raindrops from my eyes, the rain dripping from soaked chocolate hair. "You're here to bring me back to the Leaf."

Pausing a moment, she places a hand to the side of my neck, extending the healing there as well. "…Yes."

Itachi is dead, but I abandoned the Leaf long ago. For all intents and purposes, to them, I've gone rogue. There's no reason for them to do anything but try to kill me. "Did that idiot put you up to it?"

"No." The answer is immediate, and there's no hesitation in her voice. In fact, it seems to grow just a little stronger. "I'm here because I want to be."

"…" She's just as crazy as the loser…

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

Typical Sasuke. Asking all sorts of questions, and expecting answers, even if I don't want to give them. But…it's Sasuke, and there's not point in hiding these things from him. He'd figure them out eventually anyway. And then, he finally goes and passes out for me. It would have been better if he'd done that a couple of minutes earlier.

"So…Itachi's little dragon… I did wonder when you and I would finally meet." A deep voice sinks from right above me, and I look up in an instant to see an Akatsuki with a swirling orange mask. "Ten-Tails."

My blood runs ice cold in an instant. "You…" _Is he here for me? Or…_

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not here for you, today." I can't see a thing behind his mask, but there's something about him that feels eerily familiar. "We have yet to seal the Six, Eight, and Nine-Tails. You, Little Dragon, will have the pleasure of being sealed last."

I twitch at the nickname. "Itachi and Shisui are the only ones who were allowed to call me that." There's no way I would let this Akatsuki call me by that childhood nickname. "What do you want with them?" My chakra flares menacingly, protectively.

"I think that you know what I want." Sasuke and Itachi, that's what he wants. "I will take them, whether you want me to or not. The difference is whether I take you with them, or you spend your last days in the Leaf with the Nine-Tails."

Rain and blood run from between my fingers as I clench my fists. "And if I refuse to let you have them or me?"

He chuckles, as though truly amused by my defiance. "I will take them, whether you allow it or not. The fact is, you cannot stop me."

"…" I crouch protectively in front of Sasuke, ready to attack as soon as he moves.

But he sits there, doing nothing. At least, it looks like he's doing nothing. But the feeling in the air changes, and I don't like it. There's something almost like…a vacuum. I feel like the energy in the air is being sucked towards him. And his gaze…it almost seems like his gaze is…

I turn to look at Itachi's body, only to see him vanish right before my eyes. "Itachi!" I lunge for him, finding nothing but air and stone. Then, I turn back to Sasuke, and find the Akatsuki's gaze on him as well. I reach back for my cousin, only for him to slip through my finger, just like Itachi has done twice today. "Sasuke!" I turn to the Akatsuki, my eyes blazing like fire. "What did you do with them!?"

"I told you…" The air around him swirls, and he warps, just like Kakashi's space-time jutsu. "I would take them, regardless of your intentions. You failed to protect them…" And he disappears right into thin air, my chakra infused blade slicing through the top of the stone wall, cracking the crest there as my attack misses him completely. "Until we meet again, Little Dragon."

"Damn it!" I can't sense his chakra anywhere. It's like he just up and vanished into thin air, along with Sasuke and Itachi. "You COWARD!" My scream echoes through the rain, through the flames. _No…not again…NOT AGAIN!_

Lightning flashes across the sky, masking the sound of Pakkun's howling, and the sounds of the pursuit team arriving. But the mission is a failure, and I'm sure that in just a moment, they'll know that. A complete and utter failure. Not only did we fail to 'detain' Itachi, but we failed to bring Sasuke back. We failed…I failed…

* * *

Naruto's P.O.V.

"Damn it! Why can't I ever reach him? Why can't I ever catch up…?" We've lost him again. There's no scent to follow, and every trace of them is gone. Ciara is the only one who saw anything, and she's completely out of it. "…We'll get that Akatsuki…and we'll get Sasuke back next time." I have to believe it. And I have to make her believe it too. "Alright?"

But as I reach out to touch her, she starts shaking. I've never seen her act like this before. Ever. I've seen her cry, I've seen her in bad spots. Hell, I remember the way she cried and screamed when Gaara… Anyway, I've just never seen her look this bad before. "Ciara…?"

But as soon as my fingers touch her skin, lightning sparks off of her, and the ground starts to shake. And I'd swear that the wind is whipping the rain around as those black flames grow. And then, she screams. Or maybe wails, It's a heartbroken cry…worse than anything I've heard before, and not something that I want to hear again, let alone from her.

I cover my ears, wincing as I back away from her. "Kakashi-Sensei! Captain Yamato!"

Kakashi shakes his head, pulling me away from her. "It's no use. She…needs to grieve."

"She needs to grieve…?" Right…That masked Akatsuki, he told us…that Itachi died. But…how do I help her? How do I make it easier for her to…I dunno, accept? She's always been supporting me, encouraging me, reining me in when I go nuts. So I just…want to do something for her too. More than just hugging her and stroking her hair when she has a nightmare.

…She's been having a lot of those lately. And now, she's just going to have more of them. _Why…? Why isn't she just allowed to be happy?_

More lightning shoots down from the sky, hitting the ground all around us. "Kakashi-Sensei! Sakura jumps towards us, eyes on the sky. "We can't stay here! The storm's getting worse!"

"Yes…it is…" His eyes fall on Ciara, crying and sobbing on the ground. "And I think I know why."

"It's her." Hinata's Byakugan is active again, and she;s staring at Ciara. "I don't know how, but she's exchanging chakra with the ground and the air. And I think…that's what's changing the weather."

"She can do that subconsciously?" Sai frowns at her from next to Kiba and Akamaru. "That should be impossible. No shinobi can do that."

Her cries stop all of a sudden, and everything goes dead quiet, even the rain and the wind and the lightning. The ground stops shaking as well as she sways unsteadily. "That's because she isn't just a shinobi." Her voice is doubled, deeper, and it's a voice I've heard before. "She's far more than that. Something that you humans would find difficult, if not impossible to properly comprehend." She, well, he looks at us with those fiery red, orange, and gold eyes. "But for now, I will hold her back and keep her mind steady."

"Suzaku…" It's far from the first time I've talked to him, but it's the first time that he's just popped out like this. "Did you do something to her?"

He nods, wearing her face naturally. "I have drawn her conscious mind deep within the recesses of her subconscious. She requires peace and quiet, time to calm herself before awakening. She has just lost someone very dear to her heart, and it is not a loss that will be easily overcome."

"I see…" Kakashi-Sensei lowers his headband, covering up his Sharingan again. "Then I suppose thanks are in order. She could have done a lot of damage, and things could have become very dangerous."

"Yes, they could have." He brushes her hair back, slowly fastening it back into the usual braid she wears, tying it up so that it hands just below her shoulders, before replacing the headband in her pack on her forehead. "I will retain control of the chick's body until she is capable of it, herself. So you need not worry that your fighting power will be reduced on the return to the village. I will make up for her absence."

Kiba sniffs the air suspiciously. "You smell…like that time she grew those wings when we had to deal with Sora. What the heck are you?"

He stares at us with unblinking emerald eyes, and I feel a sinking in my gut. It's not something that either of us really like to talk about, and he knows that. But…I've never heard him talk about…just what he is, before, only what Ciara's told me.

Nevertheless, he smiles, using her face. And it's still so natural that it's almost a little scary. "I am a spirit endowed with chakra, and gifted with great power. You humans would call me a demon, as you do the others of my kind. Or a Tailed Beast, as named by ninja. I am a bird of flames, of the wind, with ten tails, the last and least known, as many believe there to only be nine."

"If that's true, then why should we trust you?" Shino's buges start crawling out. "The Tailed Beasts aren't exactly known for being friendly."

He chuckles softly, which sounds really fucking weird half done in her voice. "And just how many of us have you met? Had a discourse with? Even…befriended? Am I not allowed to be kind to humans that I find worthy, despite the fact that your species has an unfortunate habit of grasping for power, and waging war with one another? I do not enjoy war, and found kindred spirits in the descendants of those ancient dragons that roamed the world so long ago. Their 'human' descendants accepted me for what I am, just as I accepted them. And right now, my sole concern is looking after their hatchling, preserving her life so that one day soon, she might finally spread her wings as a true dragon. Something that, it would seem, humans have largely forgotten. Such a forgetful and short-lived species…"

But…that still doesn't answer one of the most important questions in my head. Apart from Sasuke, I'm worried about… "Is she going to be alright?"

Those fiery eyes blink, before turning on me. And I could swear that he's looking at me like…like a parent? I dunno, it just feels…warm. Kinda like Pervy Sage, but not quite…the same. "Not soon, no. But she may heal, eventually. But it depends largely on the people around her, on you, in particular. As long as she is given support, attention, and love, in whatever capacity that may be, she will survive."

"…So she'll survive…" But…that still makes me feel uneasy. I want her to be happy, not just survive. And I know that she wants the same for me. It's what pulled us together so many years ago. And, well, if that's going to happen. "Then let's get back to the Leaf and start planning our next rescue mission!" Because the sooner we bring Sasuke back, the happier she'll be. I think. It always did seem like a topic that made her unhappy, worried, so maybe if we get Sasuke back, she'll get better. Maybe.

"Yes." Kakashi-Sensei waves his hand towards the forest, and towards the big path that Captain Yamato made for us to get through the black fire. "It's best that we report back to the Hokage as quickly as possible."

 _…To tell her about what happened with Sasuke…_


	25. Revelations

**Alright, so since the Uchiha have this nasty habit of knowing things that they shouldn't (or maybe things that everyone else SHOULD), here's a little something for you all that combines 'history' lesson with vendetta, with political intrigue, and…all sorts of fun stuff. Basically, a second conversation between Sasuke and Obito, after the canon one. Because Sasuke has questions, dammit.**

 **And yes, Chaos, there is a great risk of her snapping sometime in the future, since there's still Utakata and Jiraiya's deaths to get through. You know, on top of her still grieving for Itachi. Tsunade is going to have her work cut out for her if she even hopes to stabilize Ciara's emotional state. Luckily, she has a little friend inside her to help keep her from imploding. That, and a mission is always good for getting someone to focus. Oh, and promises with Naruto, those too. That said, Ciara is still essentially catatonic for most of a day. Bored, she is going to need a LOT of help. And therapy isn't gonna cut it.**

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

 _Itachi…_ The Leaf is going to pay for what they did to him. I swear it. There's just still something that doesn't make sense. "When he died…I saw someone trying to save him. A girl. I thought I knew her, but…" That's impossible. There's no way that someone from the Leaf would try to help Itachi, not after what they did to him.

"You mean the Ten-Tails?" Madara steps from the shadows in his Akatsuki cloak. "Yes…the girl was indeed there. But she was too late. Nothing could save Itachi. She likely knew that, but as expected, she made the attempt anyway, before then turning her attention to you."

So it wasn't a hallucination, then. "Why?" That's what makes no sense. After everything that Madara has told me, why would she help Itachi?

"Because she loved him." Simple words, but not a simple answer.

"But why would she help someone made a criminal by the Hidden Leaf?" Why would someone from the village care what happened to my brother. "Why would she give a rat's ass about Itachi?"

The man remains silent, grating on my nerves. But he's answered my questions so far, he's told me so much about Itachi, that… He will answer me. "Because even if she did not know the truth in words, she knew it in her heart. Her instincts told her the truth in emotions, rather than facts."

Emotions…rather than facts? Feelings instead of spoken truth? "And why would her instincts tell her that? Who is she to Itachi!?"

"She is his little dragon." Another simple answer, and one that only makes me more impatient.

So, I turn my Sharingan on him, feeling the twinge as it changes once more. The Mangekyo. "And what does that mean, exactly?"

"Well…" He leans against the nearest wall, staring at me from under that mask. "I suppose that the answer to that depends entirely on just how much you want to know about the downfall of the Uchiha Clan, and about those that stood in the way of that for over half a century."

"Stood in the way?" I don't get it. I thought that he said that the Second Hokage had isolated the clan. "Who stood in the way?"

"Why, Daisuke Shiryugu, of course." He says that like I should know the name. "And when he died during the Third Great Ninja War, that duty fell to his son, Ryouta Shiryugu, the last clan head."

The last clan head? I frown at the thought. Shiryugu…the last clan head. "Her father?" Kabuto had said something like that long ago, that she was the daughter of the last clan head.

He nods slowly. "That is correct. Ryouta Shiryugu, before retiring from active duty to raise his daughter, accompanied his father and siblings into battle during the war, where their father fought valiantly, before succumbing to grave injuries. But I'm getting ahead of myself. There's much more to the story than that."

"…Very well." I lean back in the stone chair I've claimed, watching him carefully for any hint of a lie. "Tell me everything." There's bound to be answers to questions that I've been wondering a long time. Now is as good a time as any to hear those answers.

"Of course. Now…" His mask reflects the light dully. "Where to begin… Perhaps, with the founding of the Leaf, and how our many clans came to settle there in the first place. The Land of Fire is vast, and there were many places we could go. So, why that valley in particular? Well, that would be because the land was green and fertile, more so than any other place we had seen. And at the center of this fertile land, lay a mountain that rose above the others, and on which, a clan of powerful beings dwelled. Being that could take the shape of humans, or of dragons, though their true nature lay somewhere in between. They claimed long ago, over a thousand years ago, that their forefathers were of the few survivors of an ancient war between the demons and gods of this world. Beings of such power that the few humans who existed lived in fear of some, and in awe of others."

"Demons and gods?" It all sounds like a bunch of myths to me. "You can't be serious."

"Oh, but I am." He wags a finger at me, as though treating me like a child. "Most were killed long before the rise of man, and before the rise of shinobi. But according to them, four of those gods, four dragons, who had survived the war, went into hiding, taking a mountain for themselves, and tying their power to that place, letting it then spread slowly throughout the land. And not long after, there came a point at which they grew lonely, and reached out, taking human women to be their wives. And thus, the Shiryugu Clan was born. Four dragons living in a palace atop a mountain. You would know that mountain as Tenryuusai, one of the many peaks overlooking the Hidden Leaf Village."

Yeah, it all still sounds like a pile of… Whatever. "And what does this have to do with the Uchiha Clan?" I didn't mean for him to tell me a thousand years worth of history, just…eighty, tops.

"I'm getting to that." He snaps a little, as though losing patience with my questions. "With that in mind, establishing a village next to a holy place, and the powerful beings who lived there seemed ideal. We would have the fertile lands on which to build and support a village. And by asking permission from those people, long considered to be some kind of divine bloodline by the small villages in the land, we would gain their protection. So long as we did not make war on their sacred ground, and abided by a select number of their laws, we would be welcomed and protected on their soil. And so, the Village Hidden in the Leaves was born. And, of course, the seeds of internal conflict were sown."

…That doesn't make any sense. "You said that one of the provisions was that there was no internal conflict. That the village wasn't allowed to fight with itself."

"Yes, that is true. However, when clans began joining the village, and upon learning that the Shiryugu existed, many of the clans attempted to cement alliances through marriage. A futile and inevitable prospect that would succeed in ways that none expected. For a law among the Shiryugu was that there were to be no marriages arranged. An overly romantic notion, but one of the beliefs that held the clan together was that every union be a love match. And so, rather than purposely cementing alliances, and the clans being allowed to grasp for power, the Shiryugu turned their expectations around, and began absorbing members of other clans, reaching out their influence not through arrangements, but through their acceptance of those outside of their clan, and their readiness to take in those they cherished. And so, through nothing more than the love that their clan had for others, they took in members of nearly every clan in the village. Including the Uchiha. One such marriage with the Uchiha, was that of the clan head's son, Daisuke, and a woman named Akane."

Akane… "Ciara's grandmother?" If I remember what he said about her family tree correctly, and combine it with what Kabuto said long ago, then this would mean that her grandmother was an Uchiha.

"Correct again. And it was with the first generation of those alliances, that the Shiryugu's power grew to new heights. Power that also spelled their doom. After all…" The air starts to grow dark and heavy. "Those with great power are feared by those whose power is insecure. And though these dragons used their power only to protect and keep peace, preventing clan wars from breaking out, and forcing leaders to sit down and come to peaceful agreements, well, I'm sure that you can imagine that some might feel threatened by the ease with which such power is used. Power, not only in the blood of the main house, but in their familial ties and political alliances that tied together the clans of the Leaf."

"Threatened…just like with the Uchiha?" Slowly, this is beginning to make sense. If there were ties like that between the clans, even the ones who never liked each other, then there would probably be a lot of people who felt threatened.

"Exactly. And Akane Uchiha was far from the first Uchiha to find a spouse among the family of the dragons. I believe that you recall a man named Shisui?" As soon as he mentions that name, he has my full attention. "Yes…you do, don't you? He was friends with Itachi, brothers, almost. His own older brother, Kiyoshi, was married to a woman named Miko Shiryugu, the younger sister of the last clan head, Ryouta Shiryugu. And therefore, became an uncle to his daughter, Ciara. Miko, along with three of her four siblings, took after the Uchiha side of the family, each endowed with the power of the Sharingan."

"Their ties to our clan were strong, and so, whenever tensions began to run high, they would force the leaders of the Uchiha and the leaders of the Leaf to sit down and talk out their problems, rather than resort to violence. Some, however, were determined to escalate the situation. And for that to happen, the obstacle that was Ryouta Shiryugu…had to be removed. Along with all of those who supported him, and who might replace him. After all, the original treaty signed between Hashirama and Naomi granted the Shiryugu particular rights and diplomatic powers that were impossible to circumvent, under the very correct assumption that the clan heads would never abuse those rights. Correct, in that not a single one has used their political power to harm the village, only to prevent harm."

Now…now I see. It's all starting to come together. If someone was hell-bent on wiping out the Uchiha, then they would have to wipe out these 'dragons' first. "So, then…were the elders behind that incident as well?" If they were willing to go so far against the Uchiha, then why not go after another clan that sounded like it was just as much of a threat to their power?

"That, I do not know, I was not there that night. But I do know that Danzo has never seen eye to eye with that clan on anything. Unlike Danzo, who hides in the shadows, making puppets of others, the Shiryugu have long since held the opinion that if there is something unpleasant that absolutely must be done, and there is no way to avoid it, then it is best to do it oneself. Sending dozens of assassins in the dark of night is something completely opposed to their way of thinking." Meaning that it wasn't the clan picking up arms against itself. That much seems clear enough. "However, with the limited access, and their number of allies. And to be so thorough in exterminating the clan that only one survived, and even then, only by accident and good fortune. Well…I'll leave you to come to your own conclusions."

Come to my own conclusions? Just how many conclusions does he think there is? "And that's everything?" Only a fool would put the blame on anyone other than these elders. For the extermination of a clan to take place so soon before the Uchiha, and for that to be the same clan preventing that sort of order in the first place, it can't be a coincidence.

"Everything of note. I doubt you want the full thousand year history, and even I do not have that knowledge. There is only one place that does, and very few can access the place." In that case, it's not something that interests me.

"No, the history does not interest me." Besides, my goal is to eliminate those elders. The rest of it…it only serves to support that goal. Those elders must die, and that's all there is to it. "They will pay for what they have done. It's as simple as that."

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

"Chick…you must come out from there." Suzaku's voice floats softly through the air as his eye takes up the entirety of the entrance to the cave. "I know that you are hurting, but you can't hide in here forever."

"…" So he says, but what reason is there to come out at all? I'm useless, unnecessary. He should just take over my body and let me stay here. Let me disappear…

"…Little Dragon…" He startles me, because he almost sounds like Itachi when he says that. "Your uncle would not want you to do this to yourself. You will destroy yourself if you remain this way."

"…" Who cares? After all, if I can't protect the people I care about, then what use is there for me? It's what I'm supposed to do, and if I can't do it, then what's the point?

"…" His giant fiery eyes retreats from the entrance of the cave, leaving me to wallow in my despair alone. It's for the best, after all. And maybe he can put my body to better use than I ever could.

But instead of leaving me to myself, one of his giant red and gold feathers sneaks into the cave, the warm, downy appendage wrapping around me and gripping firmly as he pulls me from the darkness of the cave, and into the dim light of my clouded inner world. The clouds overhead are no longer thunderheads, but the dark gray cover threatens rain at any moment.

Most might think that such a thing is odd, if it is found in my own mind. But this landscape, matching the landscape of my family's estate exactly, is subject to my emotional state. Therefore, if it is raining in my heart, then it rains here as well. My anger, my sadness, my helplessness, all are depicted here in their truest form. There is no hiding from the truth here, no shield, no distraction. Everything is…me, no more, no less.

All except for him, the giant, fiery bird, whose presence is wrapped around me tenderly, like a parent might hold their child. At least, I think so. It's been so long since I've been held like that…I'm not entirely sure what to think. And trying makes my head hurt. It makes my heart hurt worse, though.

Regardless, he carries me off, away from the cave, and towards the lake. Perfect, I wonder if I can drown myself in my own mind. "No, you cannot. I would not allow you to do such a thing." I twitch as he responds, clearly having read my thoughts. "We are inextricably linked, and if your spirit were to die, I would trapped alone in a mortal vessel. I would die with you, if it were necessary, but I will not allow you to pass from this world while there are still those who care for you."

"…" Care for me? Like who? My family is gone, Shisui is gone, the old man died, Asuma left…and now Itachi… One by one, the people I love are being ripped away from me. Being loved by me is a death sentence.

"Your friends care for you. Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, those boys…Lee, Neji, Kiba, Chouji, Shikamaru, Shino, and the girls, Hinata, Tenten, Ino…even your kin, Gaara. They all care for you. And I am sure that with time, even the emotionless one, Sai, will come to care as well." He settles himself to float on the water, his many tails wrapping around us, and providing me a nest to curl up in, with one feather held over me as a blanket, preventing me from falling over the side. "And I'm sure that your cousin will care once more, when he is returned to the arms of those who care for him, too."

"…Sasuke…" The one who slipped through my fingers. I was supposed to keep him safe until the others arrived, but that Akatsuki in the mask…he swiped Sasuke and Itachi right out from under me. And I still have no idea how he did it. It was like…he just made the two of them vanish without a trace. There was nothing left except for the residual feeling of their chakra, cast off during their battle.

"Yes. But for now, Naruto is the one who requires your help." I twitch. "I have been controlling your body, traveling with your comrades for you. And it seems that your Hokage wishes to send the five of you on another mission, something important. We are currently on the way to Mt. Katsuragi. I have informed the others that I am trying to wake you, but should you refuse to come out, I will be forced to return you home to the Leaf, and Naruto will be left out in the open. Without you."

"Without me…?" But Naruto barely ever goes anywhere without me. And when he does, it's either a small mission, or he gets himself into a heap of trouble. I hate it when he gets himself into trouble when I'm not around to protect him.

"Yes, Chick. But you do not have to remain idle. We are close to him now, all you need do is wake up." He lowers his head to brush the tip of his beak against my cheek. "He is waiting for you."

"He's…waiting for me?" That's right…because we made a promise. We promised to work together to protect each other, and to bring Sasuke home. "My promise…" I can't break my promise to him. No matter what, I have to stick it out until the end.

"Yes, Chick, you and he have a promise that must be seen through. Until then, no matter what hardship and sadness are thrust upon you, you must endure and continue on." I can hear the sadness and sympathy in his own voice. He knows the state of my shattered heart, how one by one, each broken piece of it is chipped away. I give the pieces to Naruto, to heal his own heart, to Sakura, to try and help her grown into her own, to Itachi, when no one else believed in him, and to Sasuke, even if he doesn't know it. I just hand the pieces out, trying to protect everyone else. And now…I don't know if there's enough of it left to keep me going.

No. I have to keep going. No matter how much it hurts, no matter what kind of pain I have to keep enduring. I have people that I need to protect, people that do still need me, even if I've failed so many times thus far. I've succeeded too, right? I've kept them safe, and most of the people I've been protecting are still alive. My family…perhaps I will see them again one day, but I suppose that day doesn't have to be today.

"Alright, let me out." I push at the feather over top of me, my hands clenching, my lip bitten, but with a little determination in my heart. I will have to grieve for Itachi when I get home. For now, my duty is to Naruto.

Besides, I promised him that when he's Hokage, I would be one of his ANBU, didn't I? That I would be one of his personal bodyguards, and carry out his orders. I don't like killing, hate it, actually, but for him…I would do almost anything. And now is my time to prove it.

* * *

For the first time in…I don't know how long, I open my eyes, breathing in the fresh night air. "…Anyone care to update me on the situation?"

"Ciara!" Naruto grins at me, clearly pleased to see me conscious again. "We're going on a new mission."

Yamato looks back at me, glancing at my eyes, before turning to look back ahead. "We've received a message from the Hokage. We're proceeding towards Mt. Katsuragi, where we're to provide aid and defense for the Tsuchigumo Clan, as part of a treaty struck between their former leader, and the Hidden Leaf."

"I see…" More clan affairs. This can't possibly end well. No other clan affairs seem to, anyway. And treaties are only as effective as the ones who respect them. I can only hope that this is the ones that is being respected. "What precisely is out mission target?"

"The Lady Hotaru." Good, the first thing out of his mouth is a name. "She's the granddaughter of the clan head with whom the pact was forged. We're here to find and protect her, along with a forbidden jutsu held by her clan."

"A forbidden jutsu, huh?" Great, another dangerous jutsu to deal with. And just when Orochimaru had finally been knocked off. Though, I suppose that there will always be those seeking forbidden techniques in order to gain themselves more power. "And the clan princess has it?"

"Most likely." Yamato looks to the tall pillar rising from the ground ahead of us. "There, that's where we're going."

"Right…" I look up, noting that it rises what seems like half a kilometer into the sky. That's not going to be fun to climb. "Do we have a way up there, or are we going to have to wing it?" Actually, that's not such a bad idea. If I literally winged it, then maybe… I just have to keep myself occupied, and not…

I bite my lip again, closing my eyes for a moment as images of earlier today flash through my mind. _No…you can't think about that right now. They need you to be focused and keep your mind on the mission._

"So that's it, huh? The fort of the Tsuchigumo Clan…" Naruto's eyes widen at the sight of the tiny buildings atop the massive stone pillar. "Huh?" His eyes quickly return to earth. "Captain Yamato…" I follow his gaze, finding weapons ahead of us, some of them laying there, others stuck in the dirt.

Fresh footprints, lots of weapons, but no blood, and certainly no body? It looks more like sprung booby traps than a battle. Which means…if we follow the path that whoever set the traps off took, then we'll be able to get up to the top without setting off any new ones.

Easier said than done. "I think…that this is your department." I glance at Yamato as we look over the side of a large ravine. "I could carry you across one by one, but your Wood Style would likely be more effective." If I talk, I can stay focused, if I stay focused, then I won't end up thinking about…

"And you would be right." It's only an instant and a single sign, but his hands come together, and a large wooden bridge extends over the ravine. Okay, maybe calling it a bridge is being generous, but it's workable, at least. We just have to make sure that no one loses their balance.

Naruto grins at the sight, almost making me smile as well. "Not too shabby there, Captain Yamato!"

Yamato makes a really creepy face. "You mean you're glad I came along?"

Copying the expression, Naruto turns to the temporary captain slowly. "Don't push your luck, let's just go."

And since he makes me want to smack him, and since it'll also be a good distraction, I raise my hand and whack Naruto square on the head. "Quit goofing around, we have a job to do." And I'm not going to lose anyone this time. I can't…I can't…

"Alright, alright…" He rubs the top of his head sheepishly as we run across the bridge and up the side of the mountain. "Jeez, what's with you today?"

I growl angrily, my fists clenching as I stop halfway up the path. "…One of the people I love most in the world died today." He really shouldn't have asked, and I know well that I shouldn't snap at him like that. "So I'm sorry if I'm not better company."

That shuts him up, and he looks back at me, appearing more guilty than I would have liked. "Sorry…I didn't mean to…"

"I know. But it still happened, and there's nothing that I can do to change it." Even if, were I able to, I would go back and give him my life in a heartbeat. But I know, in my head, that it's impossible, in my heart, though… Well, the heart is often irrational. "…I will keep my head on straight during this mission, but when we get back to the Leaf…I think that it's best if I'm left alone for a while." I need to grieve.

Yamato glances back at me, nodding grimly. "Of course. But for now, we have a mission to complete. Let's go."

"Right." And, pushing from the back, I hurry our group up the side of the mountain. After all, there's no telling what's going on up there, or what we're going to find.


	26. Tales and Tails

**Guilt tripping may not be nice, but it's pretty good at getting people to move their asses when asses need to be moved. And asses needed moving. So that's that.**

 **Now…Marsmiko, you bring up an interesting point, and I think that I can definitely incorporate that into the story. I've also got a couple of other ideas that might make it into the story, if it goes in the appropriate direction, and if the opportunity arises. Sometimes, the story write itself, and some of the scenes I want to include just don't fit within the framework it decides to set. If I do include those scenes, however, it's going to veer in a very different direction for a while.**

 **With that in mind, let's go! And hopefully, Ciara won't have a complete breakdown until AFTER they get back to the village. …Theoretically. It's still going to be a kind of dark chapter at times, though. But we'll get some more history on the dragons (STORY TIME!), going back a bit further, and focusing less on politics, and more on culture and religion(ish? I'm working with the Shinto system, so I'm trying to work it within culturally appropriate boundaries).**

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

It's good. A last minute mission is a good distraction. I just wish that distraction didn't come with an injured old man needing emergency treatment. It's just more confirmation that something bad is going on here. More bad things, as if I needed any more to add to the pile.

But, forcing a smile onto my face, as is necessary of a medical professional, I kneel next to the old man and begin tending his injuries. "Don't worry, sir, there are two medics here to take care of you." It looks like he's been hit with lightning element ninjutsu. That's not going to be fun to heal.

"He's weak, but he's still got a pulse…" Sakura's hands join mine over his torso. "Did he fight the intruders all by himself?"

"Looks like…" After all, I see no more people laying here. And if they'd gotten what they wanted, they probably would have killed him. You only leave an enemy alive if you might need to come back to get information later. It's a brutal tactic, but effective.

"Looks like we're a step behind them." Yamato walks towards us, his eyes scouring the area. "Sai, go on and check the area, see if there's anyone else around."

"Right." Sai removes a scroll from his pouch, a brush already in hand as he starts scribbling mice to life. It's weird, every time I see his ink creatures scurrying about. I've never seen anyone do the sorts of things that he does. And thanks to Jiraiya, I've seen a lot of weird shit.

Under my hands, the old man begins to stir, and Naruto looks over my shoulder with relief. "Good, he's finally comin' around."

"Yeah, but he won't be in any shape to talk to us for a little while." My hand glows a little brighter as I pass it over his ribcage. "He really got the wind knocked out of him.

Next to us, Yamato kneels down by the old man's head. "Don't be afraid, we're from the Hidden Leaf. We were dispatched here to provide assistance. I presume that you are Lady Hotaru's servant, correct?"

"That's…right." The old man shifts slightly, opening his eyes. "I'm Tonbee." And he sounds like he could use a tall glass of water. "Lady Hotaru is on her way to a small village in the mountains that the Tsuchigumo Clan uses as a hideaway."

"Alright, but you should speak as little as you can." I understand loyalty, and I understand being worried for someone else, but he's in no shape right now to be straining himself. So keeping that to a minimum is the best course of action. "You need to save your strength."

"I found a collapsed opening in the hillside behind the mansion that looks like an escape route." Sai strides over, his ink mice milling about his feet. I don't know if I'll ever get used to how he brings those drawings of his to life. It's just…a little on the creepy side.

"Yes, that's it." Tonbee's breaths are labored, and he really doesn't seem to want to take my advice. "That's how she got away."

Yamato looks to us and sighs. "Alright, then we'll follow to make sure that she's safe. Ciara, Sakura, I want the two of you to remain here and look after Tonbee. The enemy may return here, so I would rather have you together."

"Understood." If he wants to use the buddy system, that's fine by me. It's best that we stay with the injured party anyway. "Send up a flare if you need me."

"Alright." Naruto pats me on the shoulder and gets to his feet. "Then I guess we've got no time to lose. So take care of the old man for us, will ya?"

"I will." I pay them little mind as the three males disappear, leaving me and Sakura to take the old man inside.

Sakura keeps glancing at me, as though expecting me to suddenly turn into a bomb and blow this place sky high. It's unnerving. "…So…uh…how…how are you?"

I stare at her flatly as we place the old man on a tatami mat inside the less ruined section of the mansion. "Really?" I shake my head as I move towards what looks like a closet, confirmed, when I find a few futons. I pull one out for us to lay the old man on. After all, lying on straight tatami can't be good for the back. "How am I?"

She recoils a little, looking rather sheepish. "Well…I mean after all that…"

"After all what? Arriving only in time to see my beloved uncle's last breaths?" I grip the necklace hanging about my neck, feeling the center ring between my fingers. "After trying and failing to restart his heart? After healing Sasuke, only for him to slip right through my fingers? After being shown once again that the Akatsuki are right there, hunting me down, just waiting for the opportunity to murder me like they have so many of my kin? After being dragged out of the darkest place inside my heart by someone who, for all I know, could be ripped out of me at any time?" I don't mean to be hysterical, but I'm just…I can't control it. "After losing Sasuke and Itachi the first time? After losing Shisui? My family? After all what, Sakura!?"

"I didn't mean…" But she closes her mouth, looking suitably chastised. "I'm sorry…"

"…" I grow quiet, my hands going back to work as the old man stirs again. He's been drifting in and out of consciousness. Not surprising, considering the beating that he took. He looks like he got run over by something big. "…I'm sorry, I shouldn't have reacted like that."

"No, child…" Tonbee opens his eyes, looking up at me, his eyes full of sympathy. "It is no crime to express yourself when you have been hurt."

Hurt, I suppose that's one way to put it? At what point does it stop being hurt, and start being…something else? What is worse than hurt? Despair? Desolation? …I just don't know. I don't…

"Child…" A wizened hand settles on top of mine, nothing but kindness in his eyes. "Thank you."

 _Thank…you?_ Ah, that's right, I was treating him. "I'm sorry, I should have employed better bedside manner." Honestly, acting like this over a patient… I put a smile back on my face, a small one, so as to be a little more convincing. "How are you feeling?"

"Satisfied." Okay…not really what I meant, but it's good to know that his mental fortitude is intact. "And I am in far less pain now. Thanks to the two of you."

"Good." I press my hands a little harder into his stomach, pushing the chakra further into his body. Of course, I know that there's only so much that can be done for him. His wounds can be healed, but…I can't turn back the clock on old age. He's old, he has maybe a decade or so left at the most. But I can at least make that decade more comfortable.

My outburst, however, has quieted Sakura, who sits across from me, healing diligently. I know that she doesn't mean to, but sometimes she just asks the most insensitive questions at the worst times.

 _Chick…she is young, and she does not know the horrors that you have. Forgive her, and hope that it will still be some time before she experiences such heartbreak._

 _…You're right…_ It's not fair for me to blow up at Sakura like that. I have to be more patient with her. She's lucky. Her parents were low level ninja, long since retired. They evaded most danger, and even now support Sakura in her own ninja career. Because the higher up you are, the more likely you are to die on a mission. At least…when the world isn't in the middle of a war. But then…maybe Zabuza was right all those years ago. The Leaf really does suck at protecting its clans.

I sigh, pulling back my hands as a last stream of chakra flows into the old man, tending to the last of the bruising, the open wounds already dealt with. "Alright. That should be enough. Just get some rest, and you should be fine in a few days." After all, I can heal injuries and restore chakra, but I can't really do anything for exhaustion.

With that in mind, I sit against the wall, watching as Sakura finishes with her own examination of him. It's probably better that she's a medic, and not a psychologist. Then again, they were no help either. After all, very few people can possibly even begin to understand me. That's why…that's why Naruto is so special, so close to my heart. Because he's one of the few who understands what goes on in there.

Speaking of in there…

* * *

I open my eyes to see a familiar lake laying before me. I take a step forward, walking easily on the surface of the water, towards a massive floating pile of red feathers. Red feathers that I know very well. "Suzaku…" It's the place that he always likes to sit within the confines of my mind.

It was a while ago that I discovered how to access this place, and it's nothing like the sewer system that Naruto always describes when we talk about his visits with the fox. So I'm not sure if it's because the fox sees Naruto more as a prison, when compared to Suzaku's place inside me, or if it's just got something to do with mine and Naruto's mental states. Then again, it could just be the whole dragon thing. I'm still trying to figure it out.

Either way, what it means is that instead of being locked in a cage in a sewer inside of my mind, Suzaku has a replica of my home, Tenryuusai, to fly around in. I assume that it's better than being caged, but I haven't gotten up the courage to ask yet. Because honestly, I'm afraid of what he could say. Not that I believe that he would, but still…there are some things that I just don't want to risk hearing.

"Hello, Chick." Giant fiery eyes look down at me as an even larger head bobs down, his beak rubbing against my body. "You know, if you require rest, you can always come here to me, and I will take your place and keep watch over your friend." Just like what he did when I holed myself up in that cave. I'm honestly tempted to shove myself back in there right about now, but I don't really feel like dealing with him dragging me out again.

"I know." But it's my responsibility, so I really shouldn't stay here too long. "…Sakura can handle things out there for a few minutes. I just need to…cool down." Otherwise I'm liable to snap again, and that would be dangerous for everyone. It's just hard not to, when everything inside of me is screaming and crying out in pain.

Even my world reflects this. The skies are overcast, filled with hauntingly gray clouds. The same clouds that brought the rain when Itachi died. When Asuma died. When the old man died. …these clouds come when someone dies. And now they haunt me constantly. Their gray…it bleeds into the rest of my world, dulling the colors and freezing all motion. All, except for the two of us. Without him…I think I would have gone insane long ago.

Knowing this, knowing my thoughts, as he always does, Suzaku lifts a wing for me, curling it over the surface of the water to make a feathery hammock for me to climb into. "Come, Chick, you require contact." He makes it sound kind of stupid, but I do seem to have something of a touching and feeling quota. And lately…I really haven't been getting enough of that. Normally, I would go to Naruto for that, but he's been so focused on training lately that I would rather not bother him about it.

"Okay." I climb into the warm embrace of his wing, laying myself against the soft feathers. "…I know that it's probably a pain in the ass to have to take care of me." After all, he didn't exactly ask to be sealed inside some kid. He only did it to save my life. He never wanted this…

"It is of no consequence, Chick. I chose to become one with you, and I do not regret that decision." His feathers wrap around me, and he settles down so that I can lay between his wing and his head. "And though I know that one day, we must part, I will remain here to see that such a day is long into the future."

Despite the fact that we both know that that day could come very soon. After all, if the Akatsuki have their way, I'll probably be dead before my seventeenth birthday. "…What do you think it will feel like? To be ripped away from each other?" It's inevitable, really. Being a jinchuuriki means that one day, Suzaku will be removed from me, unless he wants to die with me.

"…It will not be pleasant, Chick." He sighs, as much as a giant bird can sigh, anyway. "I have never had a human host before, however, I know that it will cause us more pain than either of us have ever experienced before, if done unwillingly."

"That's what I thought." I've seen the aftereffects of the sealing. And I think that I've even felt some of the sealing itself, through my dreams. It's not something that I want to endure for days on end. Especially if it ends with me dying alone in my own head. "…You'll stay with me? Even if I'm keeping you in a place like this?" And there comes the question, albeit in a roundabout way.

He brushes his beak against me again, cuddling as much as a giant bird can cuddle. "This place is not only my place, but yours as well. And I will stay with you until the day comes that the two of us must finally part. I promise."

"Thank you…" I know that it's a very vague promise, and one that could end as soon as tomorrow. But still, it makes me feel just a little bit safer in the warmth of his wing.

* * *

Sakura's P.O.V.

Ciara hasn't moved in a while, not even when I called her name. It's…unnerving to see her so quiet, especially when she was so agitated not very long ago. It's like…what Lady Tsunade said, about her mood switching suddenly, how it could be unpredictable.

I don't know if I'll ever understand why she's been so fixated on a ninja who murdered his entire family, who caused Sasuke so much pain. I doubt it. I just seems so…outrageous to me. How could she cry over a murderer? A serial killer? Someone who was part of an organization that wants her and Naruto dead? It just doesn't make any sense.

"That girl…" Tonbee's expression is strange, it's almost like…he knows something else is going on. "She is special, isn't she? What is her name?"

"Ciara Shiryugu, she's a jounin-level medic." And every time her name is mentioned, I feel like everyone else knows so much more about her, no matter how much I learn about her clan, her abilities, her…emotional state.

Tonbee nods slightly. "I see. Then…the old stories have not died yet."

"The old stories?" _Is he talking about our bedtime stories?_ "You mean the old stories about dragons? I've heard a few of them." Though I can't imagine that I've heard nearly all of them. And then…what is fact and what is fiction? And…just how many of them are there? Dozens? Hundreds? Thousands? Are there any that might help to explain just what's going on with Naruto's best friend?

"That's right." Tonbee smiles kindly at me. "I remember when my own grandfather told the stories to me. Not all of them, of course, but a great many."

A great many doesn't exactly answer my question. "Well, then what do you know about dragons? Have you ever seen one?" Maybe he could warn me about what to expect.

"Yes…but that was a very long time ago, back when the Hidden Leaf Village was young, and seasonal festivals were still held in honor of the dragons." He sighs wistfully, and there's a slightly glazed look in his eyes. "Back before the Great Ninja Wars had the shinobi too busy to celebrate."

"Festivals?" I'd read about seasonal festivals in some old books, but since they didn't have anything to do with ninja history, I'd put them down. "What were these festivals about?"

He chuckles softly, sitting himself up gingerly. "Well, now, the four festivals were held to celebrate the arrival of each season. In the spring, the dances would be done for the planting of crops, and the rivers would overflow with water, wetting the fields. It was a celebration of the earth, of life. My grandfather took me to attend one such festival when I was only a boy. That one, held in summer, celebrating the light and life of fire."

Earth and Water in the spring, fire in the summer, which leaves… "Wind and lightning for fall and winter?"

"Precisely." He nods approvingly, before looking down into old, calloused, leathery palms. "My Father also told me of when he was a young man, and was passing by the new village on the day of its founding festival. He described the beauty of the village, and of the peaks overlooking it. None more so than the one standing guard to the south, the holy peak that glowed in the sun. And from it…dragons came. Flying through the sky, the ethereal, ancient creatures that flew across the skies, breathing fire and wind and lightning, shaking the air with every beat of their untouchable wings."

"That sounds terrifying." I can only imagine that something like that would send the citizens into a panic. Giant lizards flying through the sky and using elemental attacks? Even if they didn't hurt anyone, it would cause a full-scale riot, surely.

"Terrifying, and magnificent." Tonbee looks to Ciara, smiling sadly. "How I wish that I could see such a display for myself. But such festivals have not been held often recently. The last forty years have not been kind to such things."

Because we were pushed from one war into a tenuous peace, and then into another war, numerous attacks on the village, and of course…there's the fact that all of Ciara's family is gone, and has been for a decade. "So you want to see the dragons, then?"

"Yes, I do. And it would not be a moment too soon. The crops have suffered these last years. And if she is the last…then it seems we have our reason why." He says it with such conviction, that I almost take him at face value

Still, I remain skeptical. "What do you mean she's the reason why the crops are suffering?" Surely one person can't do something like that, right?

He sighs softly, shaking his head. "Well, it is merely an old superstition, and I doubt that anyone truly puts stock into it anymore. But it was once said that the land shakes when the dragons are angry, and that it suffers when they are hurt. It is why people made offerings to them long ago, building shrines to those who once guarded these lands."

"Wait a minute. What do you mean by offerings?" This is starting to sound a lot like people used to worship dragons. That's not what the bedtime stories I heard said. Some of the warned against dragons, said that they were dangerous.

"Food, silks, trinkets, ornaments of gold and silver, encrusted with gems, incense." He frowns a little. "And also words, books, chronicles of human history. Though few leave such offerings anymore. Many have fallen on hard times, and keep what they have for their own families."

Gods. That's what first comes to mind concerning the list of offerings. They're the sorts of things that you would leave at shrines for gods. "These…dragons. Were they considered to be like deities?"

"Yes, they were considered to be amongst the old gods." Tonbee's hand hesitantly reaches towards Ciara, touching her hand only slightly. "And though the name seems to be often misinterpreted as a place, there are some who still remember that it is in fact the name of a family. Of the human-like descendants of those old gods, and the dragons who are born among them. Shiryugu, the Palace of the Four Dragons."

I know that we've always been told that listening to our elders is a good thing, and that they can impart wisdom on us, but…this was not what I was expecting. "So she's…what, some kind of god?" That's not possible. I went to school with her, fought in battles with her, and not once did she ever call herself that. She says dragon from time to time, but never god.

"Perhaps. God. Demon. Spirit. Those are what we humans call the beings that we love, fear, or simply do not understand." He nods somberly. "What does she call herself?"

"A dragon." And a jinchuuriki, but telling him that would be crossing a whole different line. "She's called herself a dragon a few times. And we have reason to believe that she carries her clan's kekkai genkai." Which, according to the confusing texts, has to do with these dragons, or turning into one, or something like that.

"I see." His earlier frowns returns. "In that case, it is best to watch and protect her. For the further that rumors of her existence travel, the more others will come to worship or covet whatever powers she might possess."

"It's a little late for that." After all, she and Naruto already have the Akatsuki on their tails. And honestly, the more I learn about her, the more convinced I am that we should just hide the two of them on the mountain, put up barrier ninjutsu to defend it, and keep them there until the Akatsuki are dealt with. "But I'll keep that in mind." Honestly, it seems like either trouble finds her, or she goes looking for it deliberately. And if these mood swings and inexplicable attachments get any weirder, I don't think that even Shikamaru will be able to predict her behavior.

Still, this whole mess is just getting more complicated. _Why couldn't everything be nice and simple? Why couldn't Naruto be friends with someone…normal?_ I know that it's not fair to blame her for this, but honestly, this whole situation is just so frustrating sometimes. And then, she'll go and blow up because she's keeping all of her emotions to herself. _Did she ever even get proper counseling when her family died?_

In any case, I'm probably not going to get answers from her until she wakes up, and I have no idea when that will be. I didn't think she was this heavy a sleeper, but it would seem that I was wrong about that. But whatever keeps her clam is fine, I can take the first watch. I just wish that it wasn't so boring…

So, I start putting things down, including my medical bag, since we're probably going to be here all night and all day. I just wish that there was something I could do to entertain myself…

Wait a minute. "Um…Tonbee?" Maybe if I ask nicely, he'll humor me. "You said that you heard lots of stories when you were young. How many, exactly?"

"How many?" He reaches up to scratch his head. "Well…I would say at least two hundred. Why?"

Two hundred, that's good. "I was just wondering if maybe you could tell me some of them." After all, what better way to pass the time than listening to stories, and trying to figure out which ones are real or not.

After all, it's not like there's anything else to do.


	27. We Are Kin

**Homework and midterms week caught up with me, but here's a chapter that took a lot of time and effort to write. Hope you all like it!**

* * *

"They're coming." But they're late as well. They should have been back hours ago, and yet…it's been more than a day since they left. _Something must have happened to them._

 _Calm yourself, Chick. They will be fine. Naruto is strong, and the captain and other young man will take good care of him._

 _I know…_ But that doesn't make me like this situation. I don't like it one bit. What I hate is the uncertainty. If I can't at least feel Naruto's chakra while there are Akatsuki about, trying to kill us, then I don't feel comfortable. Because he isn't safe unless we're together.

 _Wait…_ Something does feel off to me, though. Like…we're not the only ones here. "Tonbee, how many people know about this place?"

"Very few." He looks up towards me as Sakura places a fresh cloth on his forehead. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"I don't know…" Something just doesn't feel right. I feel like we're being watched. And typically, that's not a good thing. The presence feels…neither malicious nor benign, just…as though teetering on the edge of…something. _Do you feel that, or is it just me? The last thing I want is proof that I'm going crazy._

 _I sense it as well, Chick. Be careful, there is an unfamiliar presence nearby._ He grows silent for a moment, before a warmth slips through me. _On a happier note, I can sense Naruto and four others approaching. They are only a few minutes away._

 _Really!?_ A few minutes away means just outside of my current range, though I'm sure that if I lay down and put some effort into it, I would be able to sense them easily. But if Suzaku says that they're coming, then they're undoubtedly coming. "They're on their way back, now." _But…four people with him? There should only be two._

 _Yes…and one of them concerns me._ I can feel his power pulsing, reacting to something that I can't sense. _Another jinchuuriki is accompanying them._

 _…Are you sure? Another one of us…but there's only four of us left, by my count._

 _I am. It is Saiken, the Six-Tails. It would seem that he is one of the two who has remained within his host, apart from us and Naruto._

That's good to know, but it still doesn't tell me just how I should deal with the fact that Naruto is currently traveling next to another jinchuriki. It may be one of our kin, but that doesn't guarantee whether or not this other jinchuuriki is a good person.

And then there's also that persistent feeling of being watched…

Naruto's chakra flares warm and bright as he races straight for us, throwing open the door seconds after making it up the mountain. "How could you!?"

"Wait Naruto!" Yamato runs in right after him. "Stop!"

"Stay out of it, Captain Yamato!" Naruto's eyes are burning with anger, like blue flames. "This is something I have to say, so let me say it!" Then, he goes and grabs our patient. "Hey Tonbee you knew! You knew the jutsu was embedded in Hotaru's back, didn't you!?"

 _The jutsu is…_ My eyes fall onto the girl I don't recognize, guessing that she must be Hotaru. And there's something definitely weird about the feel of her chakra. It's just not right. And if there's some sort of seal involved…

 _Yes, it would seem that the forbidden jutsu that you are here to protect is embedded into the girl, sealed within her body._ Grim, Suzaku shifts uncomfortably inside me. _And the man with her…he is the jinchuuriki._

 _He is…?_ The girl's personal tragedy aside, my eyes fall onto the tall man in the loose blue kimono, my eyes locking with one of cooled amber, the other concealed behind similarly dark hair. _You…_

He returns my gaze, the space between his eyebrows creasing just a little, and his gaze dropping to my stomach for a moment, before returning to my face. Then, they travel to Naruto, and I know. He knows that there's three of us in this room. It's kind of surreal, now that I think about it. I haven't even spoken to him, and yet…there's already a connection there, between him and us.

"Hey, answer me!" Naruto's voice rings out again, and I snap my eyes back to my friend, putting my hand on his head and squeezing. "Come on, stop harassing my patient. He still needs his rest."

"But he needs to answer me!" Naruto's eyes…they hold something else in their depths, more than just anger. Hurt. Pain. They hold those as well. And the only times I see pain like that is when…when issues around the fox come up. He's taking this sealing thing seriously…

Tonbee opens his eyes. "Very well…would you help me sit?" Men. So fucking stubborn sometimes.

I sigh and look to Sakura. "Alright, fine. Just be gentle with him. He's an old man, and still weak from his battle. So don't expect to get your answers quickly. Sakura, keep an eye on him, would you?"

"Alright…" She moves to help Tonbee sit up as Sai and Yamato sit on either side of Naruto, and the girl sits with the other jinchuuriki between her and Sakura. I sit at the foot of the bed.

As he sits up, Tonbee's eyes fall onto Naruto. "Friends from the Leaf Village…"

"Please, stop all this." The girl, Hotaru, interrupts angrily. "It was my grandfather who-"

"You served Hotaru's grandfather for years and years, didn't you?" Naruto ignores her, getting back on his feet. "So why didn't you prevent him from doing this!?"

"I said stop, Naruto!"

"No! I'm sorry, but I won't!" I have to make a mental note that discussing seals, or anything of that nature with Naruto is a bad idea, because he looks like he's about to erupt. "It's because…because of that jutsu that you're-"

"I told them to do it!" Her words silence Naruto in an instant. And even I feel rather put off by the declaration. _Why…would ANYONE want to have a forbidden jutsu sealed into their body?_

Finally, Naruto comes to his senses. At least, as much as he can, through his utter shock. "W-what did you say?"

"I…I asked for it." Her voice grows stronger, and it only shows her naivety. "I asked to be given the forbidden jutsu!"

Tonbee bows his head tiredly. "Lady Hotaru, please…"

I grab Naruto's hand as it starts trembling. I'm not sure if he's shocked, upset, or angry, though I suspect that it's a combination of all three. "Naruto…"

"But why?" The other jinchuuriki speaks up, his expression curiously sad and confused. "Why would you do such a thing?"

I know. I know why the two of them are acting like this. And she just doesn't get it. At least, judging by the defiant look on her face. And…where is the line between noble and stupid? Maybe they're the same thing. Who really knows?

Either way, whatever her reasons are…I don't want to hear them. "Come on, Naruto. Let's go outside."

He looks to me, almost startled, as though he'd forgotten I was here. "Uh…yeah, sure…" This thing with Hotaru clearly has him frazzled. I don't blame him, I feel the same way.

So, I tug him towards the wall, where I slide open the screen door and let in the fresh, crisp air. It's almost spring now. It's strange how time flies along, unceasingly, with little care for the lives of humans.

But then…where do I fit into this world?

Rather than following me towards the garden, Naruto stops just outside the door, leaning against the wooden frame of the wall. "I'm gonna stay here."

My eyes narrow slightly, then I sigh and nod. "Alright." _He must want answers…_ I can't say that I blame him, but I'm not going to join him. I don't care about her reasons. I don't mean that I don't care about her deciding something like that, but whatever reasons she has…she still did it. She voluntarily had something sealed inside of her. And as someone who had that forced on them, I don't need to know what the circumstances were. It simply…is. Reasons no longer matter when the situation has come to this.

 _…When do reasons matter, and when do they not? I just don't know. There's so much in this world that just doesn't make sense…_

Reluctantly, I let go of Naruto and hop down from the wooden walkway into the garden. It's a nice garden, with shrubs and trees and flowers all clustered around a large pond. Peaceful is the first word that comes to mind as I sit by the water's edge. The water is so clear and still, there's not even a ripple to disturb it.

I notice that the two of us aren't the only ones outside. The other jinchuuriki has deigned to join us as well, sitting near Naruto so that he can hear whatever it is that they're talking about in there. He's…there's just something about him. It's probably the energy of his Tailed Beast that's making me uneasy. I don't feel like he's dangerous. Just…powerful.

And judging by the way he glances at me, his gaze lingering, he feels the same way. Though I'm not entirely sure why he keeps blowing bubbles at me. Maybe it's his way of being friendly? Or of scouting me out before approaching? Then again, he could just be trying to entertain me.

Falling back in the grass, I raise a hand into the air, catching the little bubbles one by one as they gravitate towards me. And even as they fall between my fingers, they don't break. They simply hold their shape until I flicks them away to ride the breeze away from me. It's a mildly entertaining little game, a pleasant distraction.

And I most certainly need distracting.

* * *

The moon is high in the sky, and the excitement has finally died down. I still think that Hotaru is some kind of crazy. _Who would willingly have something so dangerous sealed into their body?_

 _One who is desperate to protect a dangerous legacy, who is naive, and oblivious to the consequences._

 _Yeah…_ An inkling of guilt rises up in me. _…I never wanted this, you know. I never wanted you to be sealed inside me in the first place. To be your cage…_

 _I know, Chick. But we must make the best of the situation nonetheless. You know what would happen were I to be removed from inside you. And neither of us wishes for that eventuality._ He's right, but it also means that I know how I'm going to die.

I would never force him to die with me, so the only option left, in the end, is to take him out of me before that happens, which will kill me anyway. The day I die…will be the day that our souls are ripped away from each other.

 _Chick, Saiken's vessel approaches._

I raise my eyes from the water, catching sight of the other jinchuuriki walking towards me. Definitely towards me, judging by the fact that his gaze is only one me. "…Hi."

"Hi." His calm gaze doesn't waver in the slightest as he examines me, and then sits beside me. "You weren't with the others when they came to find Hotaru."

"No, I was here, tending to Tonbee. I'm a medic." I watch him with a similar gaze of awareness, my eyes slowly falling to his stomach, where I know there must be some sort of seal. "…You're like me."

"So you sensed it too…" He fiddles with his pipe, blowing a few more bubbles across the pond. "I haven't met anyone like me since…the Mizukage."

The Mizukage… "Yagura, right?" If I remember my dreams right, Yagura was the Mizukage, or at least from the Hidden Mist Village.

"You know him?" He raises an eyebrow at me, as though not entirely sure whether to look suspicious of me, or curious.

"…Not…exactly." How am I supposed to explain something like this? "I…have dreams. They started a few years ago, when he died. Then, I started having dreams about a man named Han, and a girl from the Hidden Waterfall, named Fuu. After that, I briefly had a dream of Gaara, the Kazekage, and most recently, of Yugito, of the Hidden Cloud, and Roshi, of the Hidden Stone. All of these people had two things in common."

A few more bubbles take to the night sky. "And what were these two things?"

"Every one of them…was a jinchuuriki, like us. And…every one of them was separated from their Tailed Beast." At least, that is what I have surmised. "And with each one that dies, another figure comes to haunt my dreams, all of them giving me the same warning, that the Akatsuki are coming for the rest of us." I glance sideways at him, noting his troubled expression. "Have you heard of them before?"

"Just rumors." He shrugs slightly, dipping his bubble stick back into a small container at his side. "I'm not exactly welcome in any places where there would be real information."

"I see…" _So he's a jinchuuriki that's gone rogue, huh? I can't say that I blame him._ After the years of seeing how the village has always treated Naruto, I'm surprised that he hasn't left yet. I get being loyal, but he takes it to the extreme. "They wear black cloaks with red clouds on them, and all of them were S-Rank criminals." Even if Itachi didn't deserve to be called something as nasty as that. "They're hunting us all down and ripping out our Tailed Beasts. And…every time that a jinchuuriki loses their demon…they die." It seems like a law that none of us can escape. "So be careful. They'll be coming after us next."

"And Naruto as well." It seems that my partner is not the only one that he's sensed. "…What is your name?"

I blink, surprised by the question. "Ciara. Yours?"

"…Utakata." I'm almost surprised that he gives me his name so easily. But then again…maybe it's not so surprising. After all, one could say that we are kin.

"Well then, Utakata." I lie back in the grass, staring up at the stars above our heads. "Watch your back, because the Akatsuki are coming for me, for you, for Naruto, and whoever the last jinchuuriki is. And they're not going to stop until either they kill us, or we kill them." And no matter how much I dislike the idea of killing people, if it comes down to us or them, I'm going to choose to protect us, and kill them.

Because I can't…I can't keep losing people.

A single amber eye slides down to my face as he watches me quietly. "…You look like you're going to cry."

Yeah, I probably do, considering how shitty things have been the last couple of days. I close my eyes and breathe in the cool air, smelling the scent of the grass all around me. "I've got a lot of reasons to want to cry."

"I see." He drops the topic in an instant, but doesn't move to leave. And for a while, he remains a quiet, constant companion, sitting there, content to blow his bubbles.

As a hint of light tickles my eyelids, I finally open my eyes, finding the sun beginning to rise in the sky. It's nearly dawn. "Hey, Utakata?"

"Yes?" This time, he doesn't even look at me, just remains peacefully sitting, small rays of light reflecting through the bubbles around him.

"…I know that after this mission, we probably won't get to see each other much." Or maybe ever. Though I hope that's not the case. "But if anything happens, or you get into trouble, come to the Leaf, and find the mountain that guards over the village from the south. There is a large estate there, and at the summit, a mansion with many rooms. You will always be welcome there, if you need somewhere to hide."

Now that focuses his attention back on me, and he nods slowly. "I'll keep that in mind. But I don't stay in one place for long."

"Because you're a rogue ninja?" Why does it seem like all of the tall, dark, mysterious men around me are rogue ninjas? That can't possibly be a coincidence. "Is that supposed to matter to me? I've met a lot of rogue ninja." Some of them have been my enemies, others…well…

He glances at me, his eye focused on my cheek. "Who were they?"

An itchy feeling breaks out on my cheeks, and my eyes sting a little. So I reach up to wipe my eyes, soaking up the tears with my sleeve. "Itachi Uchiha."

"…An S-Class criminal, and member of the Akatsuki." Utakata blows a few more bubbles. "Shouldn't you of all people hate someone like that?"

I shake my head. "Not him. Never him. Because no matter what he's done, he would never hurt me."

The silent disbelief on his face is tangible. "I thought that once, until I learned that no one can be trusted."

That's a familiar notion. "Yes, that seems to be the way with us." Not that I like things being that way, they just…well, people have proven themselves to be untrustworthy time and time again, so it's not difficult to imagine the sorts of things that might have happened to sour Utakata on trusting people. "What happened to you?"

He goes eerily silent for a moment. "…My master tried to kill me."

Now THAT is a surprise. I sit up and stare at him, my fingers twitching at the thought. "He tried to kill you!?" I try to imagine Jiraiya trying to kill me or Naruto, and just…short of shoving Naruto into a bottomless chasm, or spitting fire or chucking rocks at me…I just can't imagine him seriously trying to kill either of us. "Why? How?"

Utakata's expression grows dark, and he touches his stomach. "He was performing some kind of ritual, and tried to…"

"Take out Saiken, the Six-Tails." _But…why would a master do something like that to their student?_ It's mind-boggling, and impossible to imagine Jiraiya doing. Sure, he worked to loosen Naruto's seal, but that was to help Naruto learn to control the fox's chakra, not rip them away from each other. And I was there each and every time, just to make sure that nothing went catastrophically wrong after the, well, catastrophic first attempt.

"Yes." Utakata clenches his fist. It must be an extremely bad memory, and definitely explains why his trust in others has been shattered.

Still, if I can help… "You can trust me." Even if we've only just met, I can assure him of that much. "I want you to live, and I want you to be happy. Most of our kin are dead, and there are only four of us left, by my count." Our numbers are dwindling to alarming levels. "We have to look out for each other as much as possible."

"As much as possible, huh?" He eyes me warily. "…Your captain said that I'm to remain under the supervision of your team until I's clear that Hotaru is safe. But there is an ANBU Black Ops squad in the area, waiting to try and take me back to the Mist Village."

Well, that certainly complicates things. "Alright, and?" But if he's bringing this up in front of me, then there must be a reason. "What do you want me to do?"

He snorts amusedly. "You're quick on the uptake."

I shrug. "I try." Besides, when dealing with humans, it's always safer to assume that they want something. Everyone wants something. "So what is it?"

Deep amber watches me, before Utakata blows himself a large bubble. "If I'm going to have a babysitter, I want it to be someone tolerable."

Utakata makes it very hard to resist laughing, but I manage to keep it under wraps. "Alright, I think I can manage that." I eye the bubble suspiciously, thought. "What's that for?"

He slips into the bubble without the fragile shell breaking, then sits inside it. "Floating."

Right, of course the bubble is for floating, I should have seen that coming a mile away. "And if I get in that, it's not going to pop?" He stares at me unblinkingly, waiting for me to get in. "Right, of course it's not."

Gingerly, I touch the outside of the bubble, feeling the smooth surface against my hand, but kind of surprised at the amount of resistance. It's like pressing my hand to a strong, flexible, but extremely thin membrane, instead of a soap bubble.

What's even more surprising is the way that I just slip right inside. It's so strange, like I'm both the same weight as I was, but weightless at the same time. By all accounts, this bubble should have burst against the ground, and yet…it's slowly floating further from the ground. "…This is so cool."

I could swear that Utakata smirks a little. "It's a little different being off the ground, isn't it?"

"It's definitely different to doing it without wings." I press my hands gingerly to the wall of the bubble, finding it firm and strong. "I don't usually leave the ground without Suzaku's wings sprouting from my back. He both supports me, and acts as my spotter in the sky." Mostly because I still can't fly on my own.

I can feel that amber gaze fixed on me. "So yours is a bird?"

"That's right." I glance back at him. "What about Saiken? You carry the Six-Tails inside you. What is he, or she, like?"

His eyes narrow suspiciously, but the look is gone as soon as it appears. "He's a giant slug with six tails."

"A slug, huh?" I grin at the thought. "Is he all slimy? Suzaku has feathers like a peacock, they're really soft and warm, and nice to cuddle up in. I can't imagine that a slug is all that cuddly, but I could be wrong."

Now THAT catches him off guard, and he looks ever so slightly poleaxed. "…He crushes people and spits acid. So, no, he's not cuddly."

"That's too bad…" I smile softly, if a little sadly at the thought. "Suzaku takes care of me, he always has, both physically, and mentally." If it weren't for him, I honestly don't know what would have happened to me. Nothing good, I'm sure, but beyond that…it's hard to fathom.

Utakata's eyes close as he leans back against the opposite side of the bubble. "…He protected me long ago. When my master tried to kill me, he came out and killed everyone. I killed everyone."

"He came out?" Saiken must really have believed that whatever Utakata's master was doing was going to kill him. And to kill a jinchuuriki…its not easy. The only way I can think of off the top of my head is… "…Did he try to remove your demon from inside you?" His silence is more telling than any answer. "I see…so that's why the two of you lashed out. That's understandable." Suzaku likely would have done similarly in that situation. "That's why you're on the run from your village?"

He nods. "I couldn't stay in that place. That's why they've sent ANBU after me, trying to take me back there. But I won't go."

"And this is your way of telling them to stuff it." And although I doubt I would do the same, I can understand why he's taking this approach. Self-preservation. He doesn't trust them, after what happened with his master, and now he's being targeted for making his choices.

"Exactly." He glances down as we lose altitude, heading for the nearby forest. "They're hiding close by. Can you sense them?"

I frown, gazing down through the bottom of the bubble. "…Not yet." I close my eyes for a moment, opening them again as they swirl red, orange, and gold. "But I can now." Their thermal signatures stick out to me in the blues and greens of the forest. Red, orange, and very bright little hot spots. "There's five of them, right?"

"That's right." He stares at me, even more so when I look up at him, the thermal vision fading in favor of enhanced color vision. "Those are one of his abilities?"

"Yes." I touch the places to either side of my eyes. "He gives me the ability to see vibrant arrays of colors, heat, and in greater detail than usually afforded to humans. It's one of the most useful tricks he grants me that can be used outside of battle. The wings are also high on that list."

"I see." Utakata's eyes fall to the ground as we descend towards the trees. "Tsurugi and his men should be nearby."

"They are." My eyes narrow as I look into the trees, spotting human movement. "They're moving northward from four o'clock, all five of them. They're a hundred and fifty meters from our current position."

"Good eyes." Utakata begins to shift as the bubble falls past the tree line. "Be ready to jump."

"Always." My legs tense, the muscles of my thighs and calves ready to take the impact as the bubble pops, dumping us out of the air and towards the ground. It's not a short fall, but fifty feet isn't very much, in the grand scheme of things. I land with barely a puff of dust beneath my feet, straightening in an instant, as Utakata lands just as lightly. "They're close." I glance into the trees. "Very close."

"Well observed, ninja of the Hidden Leaf." A man appears before us, clothed in blue and purple, with a scar running along his face, almost like Kakashi's. Just with long dark hair, instead of spiky silver. "I assume that you are here to uphold our agreement?"

"I'm here to make sure that nothing happens to Utakata." My hand twitches in warning. "Whether I am just here as an observer or a guardian is entirely up to you."

He nods, eyeing my own eyes. "Very well. I am Tsurugi. I presume that Utakata has mentioned my name?"

"Briefly. And I know well that you have an ANBU squad with you, likely all trackers." Not that I have any fear from an ANBU squad, if push comes to shove. "I am Ciara, a jounin-ranked medical ninja from the Hidden Leaf. I would rather all of this go through peacefully, but if I detect a threat to Utakata, I will neutralize it with as little force as possible in my measures."

Tsurugi raises an eyebrow, and I could swear that the old man smiles. "I see that Utakata has found himself a dedicated protector."

Utakata scoffs quietly. "She's only here because it's her duty."

But judging by the look on Tsurugi's face, he doesn't buy it. And rightfully so, because I'm not. "In any case, you wanted to meet. You sought me out on your own initiative, so I take it that you wish to continue our previous discussion?"

"I do." Utakata's shoulders have been tense the last couple of minutes tense, but loosen considerably as the ANBU back off. "You said before that my master wasn't trying to kill me. What did you mean by that?"

Tsurugi's dark eyes flick back to me, before returning to Utakata. "Harusame was trying to make your life better. He wished to free you from the destiny that had been laid out for you."

I raise an eyebrow, glancing at Utakata and wondering if that means what I think it does. And judging by the way his expression darkens, it does. "He was trying to separate us."

"Yes, he was." But Tsurugi is becoming a little more tight-lipped, probably because the Six-Tails is supposed to be a village secret.

But I know. "Did he know that removing a Tailed Beast from their jinchuuriki is why so many of the others are dead?" If he didn't know, then I could forgive it. If he did, then that is another story entirely. "Once those beings that you call demons are sealed inside someone, removing them causes more trauma than the body can handle, and the jinchuuriki dies as a result."

"I see that you are rather knowledgeable about the subject." Tsurugi sighs. "I was not aware that you had informed the Leaf."

"He didn't." I cross my arms, my eyes flicking to each of them, daring them to make a move. "Or rather, he didn't have to. The others don't know, but I figured it out for myself. Or rather…" I tap the side of my head. "I was told about him by someone who knows more than any of us." It's my secret to reveal or conceal, and in this case, revealing it may serve to protect someone.

Finally, Tsurugi seems to properly grasp the situation at hand. "I see, so you are a host as well. That changes things." And the man looks slightly chastised. "Harusame wished to remove the beast from within you and return to you your life, without the danger of being targeted for the power you possessed. He did it only in an attempt to secure your happiness. And attempt that, in hindsight, was poorly conceived. We were not sufficiently prepared to preserve your life after the extraction."

"And because of that, he lashed out to save us both." Utakata's face falls. "I never asked to have us separated. He should have just left the seal alone."

"Yes, looking back, the proper path to take is clearer, however, Harusame mistakenly believed that in removing the demon, you would live a better life." Tsurugi's explanation makes sense, and perhaps it absolves the man of fault, but that doesn't change what happened. Utakata's master is still dead, and Utakata has years of unhappiness, resentment, and guilt festering inside him. I know, because it's something of a jinchuuriki's curse.

Utakata's face slowly becomes blank, though his eyes show a churning whirl of emotions. "…I see." Considering how poorly he seemed to think of teachers before, I imagine that this new information is quite an upset to his view of the world, of people.

As he grows quiet, I step forward and put a hand on his shoulder. "Do you want to leave now?" Because it doesn't seem to me that he was planning for this to be a long conversation. Truth doesn't have to take an eternity to be spoken.

He nods, and Tsurugi raises his hand, waving it. I tense for a second, but relax slightly as the four ANBU and Tsurugi disappear in a flash, their chakra signatures moving away from us.

All is quiet for a moment, before Utakata removes his bubble pipe from his obi, blowing a large bubble around us that lifts us easily from the ground. "Let's go. Naruto has been gone a while. He'll likely be returning soon."

"Alright." I want to make sure that he's okay, comfort him, or support him, do SOMETHING, but I just know that right now, he needs a little silence to mull things over in. But that doesn't mean that I'm going to leave him out here all alone. "But there's no rush. So take as much time as you need to float around and figure things out."

"Yeah…" He sighs, sitting back against the fragile wall of the bubble. His eyes slide shut as we drift into the sky, but I can tell that he's retained an acute awareness of me, and of the world immediately outside of the bubble. It's impressive, to say the least.

So, I sit back and close my own eyes, just letting everything fade away, but the presence of this newly discovered kin of sorts. Speaking of kin…

 _Sasuke…be safe. I'll find you again, I promise._ And before he goes the same way as Itachi.


	28. Monsters to the Rescue

**I'm sorry that this took so long, I had a really rough semester (and at a certain point, I was pretty sure I was going to get some pretty bad marks). And then, of course, as soon as exams were over, I came down with a nasty case of the stomach flu that kept me in bed for ten days in absolute agony. So…yeah, that was a wonder way to spend Christmas. But I hope that all of you are doing well in this new year. And happy reading!**

 **Oh, and bored, I'm glad that you like that she's making friends with Utakata. I'm trying to drag those bits out so that they can actually get a solid friendship going. You know, before the next tragedy happens (because of course there's going to be one).**

* * *

I sit back against the side of the bubble, gazing silently at Utakata. That was a lot to unload on someone in just one conversation, and I can't help wondering just how he's handling it. He's been quiet, almost dazed since we took to the air again. And that worries me.

So, I rock myself forward, turning halfway, and drop next to him, shifting the bubble a little. As a result, I end up pressed against his side, which suits my purposes just fine. Being a rogue ninja, he probably doesn't get a lot of physical contact with people. And from experience with Naruto, I've found that physical contact helps in ways that…just can't be explained.

As expected, it shakes him out of his silence. "What are you doing?"

"Caring." It's really just that simple to me. "You're hurting, and I want to make the pain go away." My own pain…well, I'll deal with it later. Besides this therapy does go both ways. "I know that it won't disappear quickly, but ignoring it isn't going to make it any easier to deal with, it just puts it off for a while."

He blinks slowly, his expression as contemplative as before, if a little bewildered. "Shouldn't you be taking your own advice?"

"Probably." But something like that is going to have to wait until later, no matter what anyone else says. "I have a job to do first, though. There is a time and place for grieving…and it's not here, not now." And I think…that Itachi would tell me the same thing. "You remind me of him, though."

"Is that so?" He frowns, tilting his head and exposing his other eyes when his bangs slide out of his face. "How so?"

I give in to the urge to laugh a little at my own thought. "Gaara would call me out for saying something like this, but it's your eyes. They're warm and cold, curious and sad, and there's guilt hiding deep inside them." I smile wryly at the thought. "Not to mention that you're intelligent and stubborn. And you act like you don't care, but you really care deeply, don't you?"

Those amber eyes narrow further. "You make a lot of assumptions."

"I like to call them observations." After all, he's acting right now like he doesn't care, but he wouldn't have sought out that meeting with the ANBU if he didn't. He's obviously intelligent and a deep thinker, but his resentment and stubbornness make him resistant to change, unless he gets a thorough explanation that directly contradicts his assumptions, yet still makes sense. And even if he tries to act all cold and nonchalant, he wouldn't talk to me if he were really like that. Or he would just drop me out of this bubble. But he cares enough not to. That's pretty telling.

Utakata eyes me resignedly, then slides down, laying back against the bottom of the bubble. "You're a pretty nosy kid."

Now that makes me smile a little. "Yeah, I guess I am. But I'm not going to ignore one of my kin when they're hurting." I already failed Yagura and Fuu, Han, Gaara, Yugito, and Roshi. Utakata is one of the only two left outside of me and Naruto.

"You don't even know me." Well, he has a point there, I don't know him very well yet. Not yet.

So, I lay back and look up at the sky. "But I want to."

"Hmph." He glances over and glares at me slightly. "Brat."

"Old man." I roll my eyes at the dumb retort. I'd ballpark him at ten years older than me, and that's it. So really, it's all stupid. "And here I thought you'd be more polite than this."

He puts his arms behind his head and sighs. "I can be, if I want to." _Right, I'll believe that when I see it._ "What's your excuse?"

"A high threshold for dumbassery, and a quick wit?" I'm not entirely sure, myself. Maybe he just draws it out. "After all, I've only insulted you once so far." If Naruto were here, I'd probably have done it two or three times. "But maybe we all need a little idiocy in our lives. It makes the rest of the problems we have to deal with seem less…frightening."

"Maybe…" His gaze returns to the sky overhead, drifting away a little. "From childish to wise in jut a few seconds. Are you naturally like this, or is it influence from your demon?"

"Not sure." I shrug and cast my own eyes to the sky. "Maybe one day, I'll find out. Or I might not. There's nothing to suggest that he'll stop looking after me, even once I'm grown." If I make it that far. "But I can figure that out later, for now, I'm more focused on the present. The future comes later, once we've made sure that we're still alive to enjoy it, and not ripped in half on a cave floor." Spiritually ripped in half, but I wouldn't put it past some of the Akatsuki we've met to make it literal. Kisame, in particular.

He snorts softly. "Has anyone told you that you have a kind of morbid outlook on the future?"

"No, but considering all the shit that's gone on around me, I think I've earned the right to be a little morbid." Though I prefer to think of it as being realistic. Naruto is the endless source of optimism, and I seem to have a bad habit of losing it once we're far enough away from each other. "And cynical. And maybe a little bitter too. But I have to try and not let it get to me. I have to stay as stable as possible, for Naruto's sake."

"For him, huh?" Utakata snorts softly. "Seems like you two are very attached to each other."

"Why wouldn't we be?" I smile sadly, my heart aching, like pounding on a lead drum. "He was the first friend I made after everything was ripped away from me. He's one of the people that I live to protect. When everything seems cloudy and gray, he's like a burst of sunshine. When I feel like giving up, he reminds me why I can't. And when he's feeling down, it's my job to get him back on his feet. Because…if we don't do it, who will?"

Who would, for a couple of teenage jinchuuriki?

"Hm? What is that?" Something startles Utakata, so I glance down as he sits up. "A word controlled by chakra?" It kind of reminds me of Sai's little ink drawings. Except that this one is chasing around a poor little dove.

Wings burst from my back, pushing on the bubble and popping it as Utakata tugs his bubble pipe from his obi. I fall from the sky, heading right for the dove as bubbles swarm around me, making it hard for the inky black pseudo-bird to fly. But I borrow some instincts from my little friend, guiding myself down towards the trees, and scooping the little bird out of the air, cradling it to my chest as I land on top of a tree.

It's certainly a dove, but I've never met anyone who would use a dove as a messenger bird. But lo and behold, it has two small notes, one attached to each leg. Clearly, it was supposed to go somewhere, but never made it. And it was attacked in transit by some sort of jutsu that I've never even seen before. …Suspicious? Definitely.

Utakata floats down on another bubble, landing beside me in the upper branches of the tree. "A carrier bird?"

"Yeah." I carefully detach the notes, trying not to rip them, or hurt the delicate bird. When I finally open one of them, I raise an eyebrow. "This one is for you." I pass it to him and open the other. This one is addressed to Tonbee.

"From Hotaru?" Utakata scans the letter, his frown deepening with each word, before finally softening with what really looks like sadness. Though I'm pretty sure that if I called him out on it, he would deny it rather vehemently.

So, I turn my eyes onto the second letter, scanning it suspiciously. "…Something's wrong." This doesn't make any sense. I mean, I know that Hotaru doesn't know us very well, but the way she's describing Naruto is just…very not Naruto.

"What is it? Hotaru's found Shiranami. Everything will be fine now. I'm free to go." Utakata watches me almost…warily. "Is there something wrong with the letter?"

I grit my teeth, crumpling the letter a little. "I'm not inclined to believe that she was coerced to write the letter, but I do think that she might be in trouble, and Naruto has probably gotten himself mired in yet another unfortunate mess. She said that Shiranami told her that Naruto said he had to leave."

"Alright, so?" Utakata raises an eyebrow, waiting for my explanation.

I fold the letter back up and stuff it into my medical kit. "The way that she says it, how Naruto just left without even saying goodbye…he's obsessive about making sure that people are okay, and about saying goodbye to mission clients before heading home. So for him to just disappear like that…it's not Naruto's style, not at all. At the very least, he would have tried to escort Shiranami right to Hotaru, and he would probably stick around to make sure that nothing went wrong, on top of that. He's almost anal about it."

Utakata frowns. "You think that something has happened to him?"

"Yeah." Because I know Naruto. Just disappearing like that…he wouldn't do it without a very good reason. And considering Hotaru's situation, I can't imagine that he would just leave her fate to chance, with someone he's only met once. "I'm going to find him." I lean against the trunk of the tree, breathing calmly as my wings relax and droop downward.

"How?" I can feel Utakata's gaze on me as I close my eyes.

I smile softly. "Quiet…" I take a deep breath, breathing it out slowly as I sink my consciousness into the earth, reaching out in all directions, scouring the world around us for my friend.

 _Found him._ "He's across the forest and on the other side of the mountain. I can sense four others with him, and they're engaged in battle." Four on one, from what I could tell, but I could be wrong. Their energy just seemed too…synchronized for it to be a coincidence.

As my eyes open, Utakata stands up, already blowing a flurry of bubbles. "How much time do we have?"

I glance at the bubbles, shaking my head as I get to my feet. "Not enough for your mode of transportation." Mine, on the other hand… "I promise not to drop you, okay?"

He glares at me flatly as one by one, four tails emerge from my back, flickering with fire, just the same as my hair. "…Fine, but don't burn me."

"Got it." My tails wrap carefully around him as we jump back up to the treetops, and I take off into the sky, pulling him along with me. I go slow at first, letting him get used to it, before drastically picking up speed. We're racing the clock, after all. First, we have to pick up Naruto, then we have to go and make sure that Hotaru is really alright.

After a minute, Utakata stops squirming around, which tickled like crazy, but that's not what's important. "What exactly are we looking for?"

"Not sure!" My eyes flick over the scenery as we zoom towards Naruto's location. "My best guess…a battle, or at least a lot of chakra."

"Helpful…" I can tell that he's rolling his eyes at me, his voice says it for him. "So how do you propose we go about this?"

"Well…" I run through all of the specifications of the mission, and the intelligence we've acquired since it began. "There were four people who attacked Mount Katsuragi, right? If these are the same people, then the best thing to do would be to capture them. So either I distract them and you capture them with your bubbles, or you distract them, and I capture them with my tails."

"That's reasonable." Utakata's gaze falls to a loud spot on the mountain as we approach the site where I felt Naruto's chakra. "I will attempt a capture first, and turn that into a distraction. If they manage to evade me, I'll drive them towards the river."

"In which case, I'll swoop down and tie them up." It's a good plan, and I can already see how I can twist it again. "And if that fails as well, I'll keep their attention on me, and you can help out Naruto, and the two of us can be the distraction while you trap them one by one."

"A reasonable solution." Utakata nudges my tails. "Drop me."

"Alright, good luck." I unwrap my tails from around him and let him drop towards the mountain, watching as he blows himself a bubble to carry him down. And while he heads down towards his position, I head towards my own, catching a glimpse of Naruto on the ground, injured, and none too happy about it. _Don't worry, we'll get you out of there soon, I promise._

* * *

Naruto's P.O.V.

 _Damn it…_

I try to get back up, but I can't move a damn muscle thanks to those guys. _What the hell kind of barrier was that? It was like having a mountain fall on top of me._

The one with the weird purple ball on his chest presses his boot to my head. "How could he still move after losing so much chakra?"

"Look, you can be impressed later. Let's get this over with." The sharp sound of that giant shuriken slices through the air, and if I don't get up, these guys are definitely going to poke more than a few holes in me.

But as I clench my fist, trying to push myself back on my feet, an explosion goes off right above my head. I mean, it sounds like an explosion, but there's no heat, no fire. _What was that…?_

"What the hell!?" The guy kicking my head back off as more explosions go off right above me. "It's you again!?"

"I couldn't help but overhear what you were saying." _That's…that Utakata guy, isn't it?_ "So Shiranami is actually the one who leads you bandits…" He sounds pissed. And whatever he's doing, it feels like I'm getting crushed by chakra. "Tell me where you took Hotaru!"

I struggle to open my eyes, only to see…nothing. There's too much dust and smoke whirling around and it really stings. "What…?"

"It's okay." A hand lands on my head as a soft voice whispers in my ear. "You're going to be okay now. I just have a few loose ends to tie up."

"Ciara?" I finally crack my eyes open enough to see glowing red and orange chakra above me, along with a pair of eyes like fiery exploding suns. "You're…here…"

"Yeah, we're both here. Now sit tight, I'll be back in a minute." The pressure on my head disappears as she does, taking off through the smoke and over the side of the cliff towards those bandits. _Ciara…be careful…_

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

"Whoa, what's with this guy!?" The youngest's one's voice leads me right to them as Utakata and Saiken lash out with tails of red chakra.

The one with the huge shuriken on his back seems worst off, not even able to stay on his feet. "This is bad, Akaboshi!"

"Yeah, you're right. The boss should be in the village by now, it's time to-" But I don't let their leader finish his sentence, because what good would it do to let them escape now?

"Good to know." My hair swirls around me, catching fire as I drop into their midst and wrap long feathers around each of them, tying them up with tails that they'll never be able to rip through. "So, Shiranami is in the village, huh?" _Then I guess that means we know where Hotaru is._

"Who the hell are you!?" The youngest, who honestly looks like a damn girl, glares at me as though affronted by the fact that I've got hold of the four of them.

"Who am I?" I turn an angry glare onto the four of them. "I'm Naruto's best friend. You know, the ninja you left lying on the ground almost unconscious?" And I'm royally pissed about that. "Be glad that I didn't find any serious injuries on him, otherwise the four of you would be paying dearly for that." But, since Naruto is stronger than they gave him credit for, and they weren't trying to actually kill him, I'll let it go. Not them, though, I'm not letting them go. They might be good bargaining chips, or if nothing else, good sources of information. And it would impede our mission if we just let them go free.

"You bitch!" The one with the shuriken kicks his legs around, trying to free himself from my tail. "What the hell are you!? You're some kind of monster! A freak!"

"A monster, am I?" I suppose, in his fear, he wouldn't be completely wrong in calling me that. Ignorant human… "The way I see it, it's people like you who are the monsters, the ones who hurt innocent people. It's even worse when you manage to get away with it. But don't worry, you won't be getting away with it this time." I rise to my feet, signaling Utakata from my position down by the river.

He nods silently, leaping down to the cliff next to the cottage, where Naruto is barely conscious. Seemingly without effort, he picks Naruto up and slings him over one shoulder before leaping down to join me and my four prisoners. "Well? Did you get anything out of them?"

"Yeah, I did." The four of them start to struggle again, and I can feel their chakra trying to fire off, only to be stopped in its tracks by my tails. So, for good measure, I cover up their mouths as well. "Apparently, Shiranami took Hotaru to the Tsuchigumo Clan's secret village. They seemed to be about to head that way to meet him right before I caught them."

"I see." He glances up at them, then at Naruto. "What should we do with him?"

"Put him down for now." I shuffle back, putting enough space between us for him to lay Naruto down. "I'll tend to him and make sure that he can function, then we can head out together. There's no telling what Shiranami is capable of, and since there's a forbidden jutsu involved, it would be a bad idea to try and take him alone."

"…I suppose that's true." But that doesn't mean he likes it. In fact, he makes a rather unpleasant face as he sets Naruto down in front of me. "How long will it take to get him back on his feet?"

"Knowing Naruto…" My hands begin to glow as I pass them over his chest, searching for any injuries I might have missed during my preliminary examination. As expected, there are none. He's just suffering from a sudden drop in chakra thanks to their barrier. "Give me two minutes to pump chakra into him, and we'll be ready for a battle."

"Good." Those amber eyes rise once more, glaring slightly as they fall upon my captives. "What are you planning on doing with them?"

"Not sure." I press my hands to Naruto's chest, pumping chakra into him as quickly as I can. And I've got some food in my pack that I can give him later. Or chakra pills, if he really needs extra. "I was thinking about taking them with us, maybe giving them heart attacks with some aerial acrobatics." I raise my gaze and smirk at him. "What, do you have a better idea?"

The exasperation in his eyes is obvious as he rolls them at me. "I'm trying to be serious here."

"I know." Though the idea still has merit, since it might shake some extra information loose. "I was just trying to be funny. Mostly. But if you have a better idea for restraining them so we don't have to carry them with us, I'm all ears."

"Hm…" His eyes flick back to my captives and he reaches for his bubble stick. "Leave them to me."

The dark look in his eyes worries me, and I have a feeling that I know precisely what his solution is going to be. Not…that I can honestly blame him for it. After all, these people are the enemy, and their leader kidnapped Hotaru, likely planning to unleash mass destruction wherever he sees fit. Not exactly actions that promote the feeling of mercy. "Fine, take them."

Utakata nods, raising his bubble stick to his lips. He blows four large bubbles that wrap themselves around my tails, allowing me to loosen my grip without releasing our prisoners. I withdraw my tails carefully, making sure not to accidentally pop the bubbles, if that's even possible, leaving the fates of our prisoners in Utakata's hands.

Naruto stirs beneath my fingertips, so I motion for Utakata to take them away. "Do whatever you want with them then head back here. It's best if we travel on foot, your bubbles are better for long-distance travel, not speed." And Hotaru's safety is going to depend on the latter.

"Right." He gets to his feet, the bubbles carrying our prisoners hovering a few feet off the ground. "This shouldn't take long."

"Good." I look over my shoulder as he moves away, worry welling up inside of me. "Be safe and come back quickly." I don't want to risk something happening to him while I'm not looking. Bad things tend to happen when I'm not looking, Naruto's current condition is proof of that.

I listen to Utakata's footsteps as he walks away, before turning most of my attention back onto Naruto, who is finally starting to stir again. _Jeez…what did they do to you? And how the hell do you end up in these kinds of messes in the first place!?_

Well, okay, I know how he ends up in these situations. Probably better than most people, actually. He gets an idea into his head, and because he's determined to protect as many people as possible, that usually means heading off on his own so that no one else has to put themselves at risk. Then, he charges into a situation head-first, flying by the seat of his pants as he thinks up his strategies on the spot. And then, on top of everything else, he has the divinely bad luck that dictates that he should be the one to encounter enemies with jutsu that even I might never have seen or read about before. And I'm the one with the giant library under their house!

He shifts uncomfortably, opening his eyes as he frowns. "Ciara…?"

"Yeah, I'm right here, Naruto." I remove one of my hands and grab one of his, squeezing it tightly. "How are you feeling?"

"Like-" He groans as he presses his other hand into the dirt, pushing himself into a sitting position. "Like I got hit by a train."

"Oh, good." I roll my eyes at the thought. "I'm sure that there are much worse things to get hit by." Not that I really want to explore those options right now. "Do you feel up to chasing down Hotaru and getting into another battle?"

He freezes, then jumps to his feet. "Damn it! Hotaru!" He spins around, peering in every direction. "Where is she!? She's in danger! Shiranami is-"

"I know!" I tug on his arms and drag him back down onto his knees, looking him fiercely in the eye. "I know. Hotaru is with Shiranami and could be in danger right now. I got it out of the bandits before Utakata took over handling them. He should be back soon, and once he is, the three of us are going to head out and rescue Hotaru, alright? We'll take down Shiranami together and get her back safely." Because going in alone and half-cocked is only going to get someone killed.

As soon as the word safely leaves my lips, Naruto visibly calms down. "Yeah, you're right. We've gotta be smart about this, otherwise Hotaru's gonna get caught in the crossfire."

"Exactly." I'm glad that we're on the same page now. "Like how Utakata and I teamed up to rescue you. He was the distraction so that I could get down there and capture those four bandits without having to go through a huge battle. If we play this smart, we might be able to avoid most of the battle." Maybe, probably not, but there's still a small chance that we could do it. Not that I'm going to hold my breath, I still think that shit is going to hit the fan either way.

"Yeah, and if we don't have to fight a huge battle, then Hotaru won't get hurt." Naruto hums quietly, his eyes flicking back and forth as if he's already starting to plan. It happens from time to time, when there's a lot at stake. It's definitely a far cry from when we were younger, and he used to charge into dangerous situations without a clue as to how they were going to go. At least he's calmed down these days. A little. Sometimes.

"Are you two ready?" Utakata's voice calls from over my shoulder, and I look back to see him standing on top of the cliff, alone. Not a bubble in sight.

I bite my lip, neither happy nor angry with the implication, but I do wish that he didn't have to do anything drastic in order to protect us, or Hotaru. At this point, I'm not sure whose sake he's done this for. "Yeah, we're ready." Naruto is back on his feet and in one piece, which is all we really need to start the chase again. He can recover some more on the way. "They said that Shiranami is back in the village, so we should head there and start our search with that as the epicenter." Because unless he decided to sit down and wait for us in the center of the village, I doubt that we're just going to stumble across him by accident.

Then again, with three jinchuuriki running around, there's every chance that we might just outright sense him. In which case, it'll make our job a lot easier. But definitely not safer.


	29. Walking into a Trap

**Whoa, didn't expect someone to bring up another love triangle. But uh…no, no plans for that to happen, I think. Sometimes, this story runs away from me and tries to write itself, so I guess it's not completely impossible, but…let's stick to the BFFs for now.**

 **Okay, so I tried to make some bits of this chapter cute. And in keeping with that, I bring to you another flashback that should help to flesh out a few things. I've been working really hard on making a kinship chart around Ciara, so now, I introduce a cousin! Enjoy!**

* * *

 _…Why me?_ These two make me want to bang my head against a wall. Unfortunately, there are no walls here, only trees. And honestly, I really don't feel like getting splinters lodged in my forehead.

"I learned all kinds of cool things from Pervy Sage!" _Naruto…_ I shake my head at his antics. Yes, he learned a lot from Jiraiya, and though the old perv was a good teacher in some regards, I personally could have done without the constant peeping that he did. I was embarrassed by association.

And that's not to mention all of the porn he had me proofread. That should seriously be illegal. Then again, our village makes twelve year olds learn how to kill, so maybe it's not really unexpected. The only thing they seem to do right is restrict kids from drinking. And even then, it doesn't always work. Lee, being a prime accidental example of that.

Either way, Utakata has one massive stick shoved up somewhere uncomfortable. His hostility towards the idea of master and student is…well, I mean I get that he's not happy about his master almost killing him, but it's a bit immature of him to paint all teachers the same way. But I suppose we're all entitled to our moments of immaturity. Trying to be wise and mature all the time is exhausting. Not to mention impossible.

"Taijutsu, ninjutsu, that goes without saying." Damn it, and now Naruto is making a list. "And some other awesome jutsu! But he wasn't just a strict taskmaster, he taught me the most important thing for a ninja. Having the guts to never give up." Naruto smiles, clearly wading through memories of Jiraiya as we race through the trees.

I sigh, unable to contradict him in any of it. "He may be an old pervert, but…I guess he's our old pervert. He taught me to use my water and earth natures while we were on the road. And he helped me to figure out genjutsu." Though I can't say that the old perv is any good at it. Good at breaking it, yes, but when it comes to using it…honestly, Fukasaku and Shima were more helpful in that endeavor. "And he helped me…calm down a bit." I know that I was kind of uppity as a kid, but I'd like to think that I've calmed down somewhat. Then again, maybe that was just me growing up. After all, Jiraiya still acts like a perverted kid. Maybe I had to calm down to offset his unique…quirks.

Utakata glances back at me. "If this is you being calm, I'd hate to see what kind of brat you used to be."

My eye twitches and I shoot him an irritated smile. "Yeah, you probably would. I used to get dragged into a whole ton of trouble. You would have been quite…frustrated if you tried to babysit the two of us."

"Yeah, no kidding!" Naruto grins as we pick up the pace a little. "Remember when we used to paint all over the Hokage Faces?"

I flush under Utakata's amused and slightly disapproving gaze. "You mean YOU used to paint them, and then you would drag me along once you got caught so that I could help you escape from the chunin chasing you!"

"Exactly!" Naruto grins widely, forgetting for a moment that we're on a dangerous mission here.

Amber eyes watch us closely, and I hear a soft snort just ahead of us. "The two of you carry on like a couple of children. Why would I ever want to babysit the two of you?"

"Yeah…" I smile, despite the retort hurting just a little. "I guess taking care of a couple of brats like us would be too troublesome. You've already got your own problems to worry about." And so did the rest of the world, it seemed.

Naruto grows quiet next to me and I can feel his worried gaze on me. "…Are you gonna be okay…?"

I almost wonder what exactly he's asking about. The fact that I'm still silently grieving for…well, any number of people. Yagura, Fu, Han, Roshi, Yugito, Itachi…and I still don't know what happened to Shisui, apart from the fact that Itachi told me that he'd died. I at least…want to know how he died. For now, it's like having been injured, but also having no clue how it happened. It just…hurts, and I don't know why.

Or maybe Naruto is asking if I'm okay with the fact that our village really fucking sucks at watching out for its orphans, and has a bad habit of leaving powerful orphans to learn their own moral codes and survive however they can. Obviously that worked out just great. Naruto was essentially tortured as a kid, and Tsunade would probably have a field day if I let her poke around in my head for a few hours and find out what's wrong with me. Not to mention Sasuke. Because we all know how leaving him on his own turned out.

Sighing, I look up at the sky, where the sun is beginning to set. _Don't worry, Sasuke…even if you're stubborn and don't want to be found, our paths will cross again._ And probably sooner than anyone thinks. After all, it's kind of funny how things like that work out. And with Itachi gone…Sasuke can't be left on his own out there. He never should have been left alone in the first place, but especially not now.

"Hey, Ciara?" Naruto nudges me, taking hold of my arm and pulling me to a stop as we land on another branch. "What's wrong?"

"Huh?" I tilt my head, staring at him bemusedly. "What are you talking about?"

Utakata turns towards us, sitting on a branch not far from us. "You know, a ninja isn't supposed to show their emotions." His eyes focus in on my face, almost to an alarming degree. But there's no hard edge there, and the chastising feels…weak. "A ninja isn't supposed to start crying in the middle of a mission."

I blink. "What?" And only now do I notice that there are warm, wet tears trailing down my cheeks. "Ah…I…I don't know why I…" I don't even remember starting to cry, let alone the reason why. Though I suppose that I have so many reasons that it doesn't really matter anyway. "Sorry, I'll be fine in a minute."

"…It's okay…" Naruto sighs, wrapping an arm around my waist and tucking my head against his shoulder. "A lot's happened the last few days. I'm surprised that you didn't start crying earlier."

 _He is…?_ But I distinctly remember bawling my eyes out, or maybe screaming and wailing would be a better way to put it. I wept over Itachi's corpse when I couldn't save him, when the guilt and shock and grief came crashing down on me. _Weren't those enough tears? Wasn't that enough pain for one week? One month? One year?_ After all, I'm a ninja. I can't go and spend all of my time crying for those I've lost. I'd never get anything done. I would be useless in a fight.

And a ninja who can't fight…what use are they anyway?

I take a deep, shuddering breath, focusing on the warmth rolling off Naruto as I wipe away the unbidden tears. He's always so warm, so impossibly warm… "We need to keep moving." He's a comfort, that's for sure, but no matter how I feel right now, we have a mission to get to. Save Hotaru, that's all that matters. I can cry later.

And chances are, once I start, really start…I won't be able to stop.

It only takes me a moment to be back on my feet. And right now, I just need to think about something else. Anything, as long as it makes me happy, or helps me to focus. And right now, that's a rather tall order.

* * *

 _I press my head against my Aunty's round belly, smiling brightly as I feel little kicks against my cheek. "The baby's kicking!"_

 _Aunty Miyako pats my head gently, her smile as warm as the sun, embers glowing in her dark eyes. At least, that's what Daddy calls those sparkles. Uncle Eito calls them something different, but Aunty Miko always covers his mouth when he says it. She says that it's a bad word and that good girls should never say it. "That's right, your little cousin is saying hello. He can't wait to meet you."_

 _Butterflies fly around in my tummy as I pat my hands on her belly. "I wanna meet him too! I wanna hold him and hug him and kiss him! Just like Daddy does to me!"_

 _She laughs, running gentle fingers through my hair. "I'm sure that he'll love your hugs and kisses. You'll be such a good big cousin, just like Tatsuo and Sumire."_

 _"Mm-hm!" I grin widely as I raise my hands to rub her belly. "Just like Tatsu and Sumi!"_

 _A cheerful voice laughs madly behind me. "Just like who now!?"_

 _My head whips around, and it kinda hurts a little. But that doesn't matter at all. "Tatsu!" Pretty green-blue eyes sparkle at me, just like the ocean. Well, that's what Daddy tells me, anyway. I hope I get to see the ocean too someday, it sounds really pretty!_

 _I clamber down from Aunty's lap and race towards Tatsu as fast as my little legs will carry me. She meets me halfway, scooping me up into her arms gleefully. "Have you been a good girl today, Cia?"_

 _"Uh-huh!" I nod eagerly, placing my hands on her shoulders so that I don't fall down by accident. "I was just playing with Aunty's tummy! She's having a baby!"_

 _Tatsuo laughs and kisses my cheek. "Yes, Aunty Miyako is going to have a beautiful baby. We're all very excited to meet our little cousin."_

 _I nod eagerly, bobbing my head around in front of Tatsuo's face. "Hey Tatsu, when are you and Shishi gonna have a baby?"_

 _Her face turns red really fast, like she was out in the sun too long and her skin got burned. Seiichi's skin got burned once. It was really bad, he was crying for a whole week! "Tatsu? Are you okay?"_

 _She shakes her head, like she's saying no, but she smiles, which means…she's okay, right? "Yes, I'm fine. But, uh…well, Shisui and I were going to wait a few years. We're not grown up enough yet, and there's a lot of work for us to do as ninjas before we're ready to start giving you more cousins. Besides, who says that me and Shisui are going to have babies together?"_

 _I tilt my head, confused by the question. "But you were making kissy faces like Mommy and Daddy, and Aunty Miyako with Uncle Kiyo, and Uncle Eito with Aunty Aia." Her skin turns even more red than before. "Tatsu, your skin is burning."_

 _Tatsuo groans, I guess she really did burn her skin like Seiichi did. "Remind me when you're older to be the one to give you The Talk and explain the birds and the bees."_

 _"Birds and bees?" That sounds really strange. "I like birds, but I don't like bees, they sting."_

 _"Ugh, I'm not supposed to have to do this for another fifteen to twenty years…" I don't know why, but Tatsu seems really unhappy about the birds and the bees. Maybe she doesn't like getting stung?_

 _I tug on her hair. It's so soft and shiny, and it looks like those trees with the big leaves. Uh…oak, I think? "I'm sorry…if you don't like the bees, you don't gotta tell me. I'll ask Daddy about the bees!"_

 _She groans again. She must really be in pain. "No, no, don't do that." Why not? "Uncle Ryouta is going to kill me…"_

 _"Daddy wouldn't kill you. He'll protect you from the bees!" Daddy is really strong. He can protect anybody from the bees!_

 _With another shake of her head, she sighs. "Watching you should be considered an S-Class mission…" She pats my head and rocks me as she takes me back upstairs. "Come on, let's put you down for a nap. And hopefully, by the time you wake up, you'll have forgotten this conversation."_

 _"Okay." I hum quietly, smiling into her hair. She smells good…like flames burning cherry wood in the fireplace and wet stones in the pond. "Love you Tatsu…"_

 _She laughs softly. "Love you too, Cia. Always and forever."_

* * *

I blink my eyes open, not even realizing that I closed them in the first place. Strange…that doesn't usually happen while I'm racing through the trees. And a good thing, too, otherwise I would be risking falling off a branch because of a lack of attention.

Still, the sun is lower in the sky than I remember. Not good. "Are we almost there?"

My eyes shift to Utakata as he looks around, peering through the trees. "Yes, we're close to the village now."

"Good." I sigh, smiling as the memory fades from my eyelids.

"You feeling better now?" Naruto's eyes watch me carefully, as though half-expecting to have to intervene in a crying session again. "You were pretty spaced out for a while there."

But I nod, because yes I'm feeling better. "Yeah…sorry for getting distracted." My lips curl into a smirk. "But you're probably the last person who should be remarking on someone else spacing out, Naruto."

A vein in his temple twitches. "Hey! I don't space out that much!"

"Could have fooled me." Naruto is just so easy to poke. And right now, I feel like poking him is a good idea. It's funny, and it makes me feel even better.

"Hey, you two pipe down back there. We've arrived." Utakata stops all of a sudden, pointing down at a road below us. "This is the way into the village."

"We're here?" I'm not really sure how my perception of time is right now, but it doesn't feel like we've been traveling for that long. Probably because I was spaced out most of that time. I must have been keeping pace with Naruto out of instinct or something, because I seriously don't remember much after our talk about Jiraiya.

"Yes." Utakata drops from his branch, landing soundlessly on the path into the village. Then he looks back up at us for a moment as Naruto and I drop down just behind him. "Come on."

As we approach the gate, Naruto looks uneasy. "So…we're back here again…" And he sounds far from thrilled about this turn of events.

Utakata frowns, turning to Naruto. "Well, Hotaru and Shiranami are supposed to be here, in this village. What happened here?"

Naruto grits his teeth, not a good sign. "Lady Hotaru was attacked, the bandits were waiting for her. Also…all the villagers here didn't think too highly of her, either."

"I'd say the fact that nobody in this village wants the forbidden jutsu nearby them is pretty obvious." Utakata's voice reminds me of chocolate. The really dark stuff. Bitter and unpleasant.

I narrow my eyes at the sight of the very quiet village. "So we're dealing with this all over again, huh?"

Naruto huffs angrily. "Yeah."

"Wonderful…which means that the bandits and villagers are probably in cahoots." Which, sadly, wouldn't surprise me. Not after the sheer hatred directed at Naruto for so many years. "And with that in mind, there's equal chance that Shiranami and Hotaru could still be here, or he could have moved on with her to somewhere."

"Yes, that's true." Utakata frowns, furrowing his brow as the cogs spin in his head. He's thinking so loud that I can almost hear him. "It could be a trap, an ambush. This all went…quite smoothly."

"Too smoothly?" I mean, apart from the initial ambush, which we pulled off flawlessly, everything did go…suspiciously easily. "Then we stay on guard and watch each other's backs. This is why we came together, so that none of us would get overwhelmed, and so that he wouldn't be able to get the drop on us."

"Indeed." His eyes narrow slightly. "Beware when the chase seems to easy. My master-" He cuts himself off, biting his lip as though fighting off a memory.

Naruto, on the other hand, grins smugly and strides towards the village. "Guess you did learn stuff from your master after all. When we save Hotaru, you should teach her some of that." This, directed at the one who seems to think that masters are utterly useless, or maybe straight up dangerous, and that the bond between teacher and student is a lie.

As Naruto goes on ahead, I reach up and pat Utakata's shoulder. "I know that we, as ninja, are taught to see things with our eyes, take a step back, and evaluate them with our heads. But…I think that sometimes, we need to take a step forward, embrace what we see, and think with our hearts, instead of letting our heads lead us astray."

He glances at me, brow still slightly furrowed, but less so than before. "…How is it that the two of you can act so childishly, and then somehow, you turn around and say something like that?"

I laugh softly, squeezing his shoulder for a moment. "It's a gift, I think. Or maybe a curse. I'm not sure yet, but you can help me figure it out after we get Hotaru back."

"Right…" He rolls his eyes as we take off after Naruto. It's a short sprint into the village and…immediately, something strikes all of us as just…wrong. There's no one walking around. The place just seems…empty. It's eerily quiet, even though I can sense the people here. And they're definitely here, just…hiding. But from what? From us?

Naruto looks around, and I can see the tense line of his shoulders. He's as uneasy about this as I am. "Hey, Ciara, are you sure that this is where those bandits said that Shiranami was taking Hotaru."

"Yeah, I'm sure." But I don't sense her here. "There's always the chance that he brought her here, then moved on to another location." I take a few steps forward, shivers racing up and down my spine. "But something here just feels…"

"Wrong." Utakata agrees, it's as clear as day on his face. "It's too quiet here. There should be villagers working, walking, even at this time of the evening."

"Yeah…" I clench my fists, ready to spring into action. And I jump a little when a door creaks open and a ball comes rolling out.

Naruto takes a step back, staring at the door as a little girl comes wandering out after the ball. She must have dropped it. So he picks it up and smiles. "Here you go."

Her face is blank for a moment, then she smiles. "Thanks, Mister."

"Sure thing." Naruto laughs sheepishly, handing the girl her ball. "Be careful next time, okay?"

"Okay!" She reaches into her pocket, taking out a piece of paper. "Here! You get this!"

"Damn it! Exploding tag!" In an instant, I read the characters on it and snatch it from her hand. Naruto grabs the girl and Utakata puts up a bubble barrier around the three of them as I crumple the tag in my fist, detonating it safely.

I motion to Utakata to pop his bubble, and as he does, I can hear Naruto swear under his breath. "Just what the heck was that?"

"Shit…" I sink down, bending my knees as I get ready to defend. The little girl runs off, which I guess makes sense, since we're surrounded. _I guess it really was a trap after all. Which means that Shiranami was probably here to set it a while ago._ It also means that he's definitely moved on from here, and taken Hotaru with him.

Utakata frowns in displeasure. "Looks like we've got company."

"The villagers?" Naruto's eyes widen. "So they really have joined up with the bandits and Shiranami?"

"No, that's not what happened." He's right, this isn't normal. "They're all being manipulated." And the characters plastered on their bodies would support Utakata's theory.

I really don't like being in situations like this. Even if these people are a bunch of assholes who hate Hotaru because of what's sealed inside her, they're still technically a bunch of innocent assholes. And manipulating or hurting innocent people leaves a foul taste in my mouth.

And I'm not the only one. "How dare they use these people like this!?"

"It looks like we're going to have to fight through them." Utakata's eyes show a hint of displeasure at the thought, but something tells me that he's seen a lot of this kind of thing, innocent people being sacrificed for the goals of someone more powerful. And considering that he's originally from the Mist…well, I remember some of the things that Zabuza said about it, and none of it sounded very pleasant.

Still, I would rather avoid this battle if at all possible. And even if they're being manipulated by ninjutsu of some kind, they're still people. They still have ears. They can still hear. And most importantly, they can hear ME. "Both of you, cover your ears right now."

Naruto's eyes widen, and his hands snap to his ears, covering them thoroughly. Utakata, on the other hand, frowns. "What are you going to do?"

I smirk, taking in a deep breath. "Sing them a song and put them to sleep."

It takes a second, but he nods and covers his ears, leaping to one of the surrounding rooftops. I nod to Naruto and he does the same, giving me a clear field on which to work. Now, seeing as these people are civilians and clearly not trained as ninjas, which is odd considering that they grew to prominence as a ninja clan, I should be able to pull this off without much difficulty.

So, I take in another deep breath and smile.

 ** _"Hajimari no kaze yo…todoke messeji. Itsudemo anata wo shinjite iru kara…"_**

One verse in, and the villagers approaching with makeshift weapons of all kinds freeze in their tracks, unable to move. As the second verse comes, the weapons start dropping to the ground as their muscles become unresponsive. And with the third, they drop alongside their weapons, their collectively controlled consciousness no longer responding to the physical world.

I take another breath as I leap away from the piles of unconscious bodies and onto the rooftop next to Utakata. "Alright, that should keep them away long enough for us to get out of here and pick up their trail."

His eyes flick over the piles of bodies and he nods slightly. "A large-scale auditory genjustu…impressive. And very effective for controlling crowds, it seems."

"Only if they're quiet." I wouldn't be able to use it very effectively in a loud market or busy town unless I strained my voice to the absolute limit. "Now let's go, we need to book it if we're going to catch up with Hotaru." Because whatever's about to go down, it's not going to be good.

"Alright, but how do we find her now?" Naruto grimaces, his gaze darting about. "The trail led to the village, didn't it? Where do we go from here?"

And…there's the hitch in my plan. Sure, the bandits accidentally told us where to go, but now, I doubt even they would know where Shiranami is, even if they were still around to reveal information. "Well, if this was the trap, then I doubt that Shiranami would have left any tracks for us to follow." That would just defeat the purpose, since this trap was obviously meant to slow us down, not kill us. No competent ninja would rely on a bunch of civilians to end the lives of trained ninja, especially not ones of our particular…talents.

Utakata sits down on the roof, frowning and thinking. His eyes close for several long moments as he taps his fingers against his knee. "…You're a sensor, aren't you? Could you track Hotaru's chakra?" His amber gaze returns to fall squarely on me. "You found Naruto before. Could you do it again?"

"Track Hotaru's chakra…?" I wish that it were as easy as it sounds. "I'm not sure. I'm still new to this sort of tracking and it takes quite a lot of concentration, as well as utter stillness. I would essentially become catatonic while trying to find her, assuming that I could recognize her chakra signature in the first place."

"But you could try?" A dark eyebrow rises, as though daring me to say no.

I sigh, nodding slightly. "I could give it a try, at least. But I can't promise any results."

He nods, accepting that much. "Then do it. If you manage it, it will save us a lot of time."

"That's true." I glance over at Naruto, still hanging out on the other roof. "We're going to take a break for a couple of minutes while I try to track Hotaru down! Keep a lookout and let us know if anyone comes close to this place when they shouldn't!"

"Got it!" Naruto's hands move in a flash, producing three clones, one to look in each direction. If nothing else, Naruto is definitely useful as a lookout. We could probably leave the sentry points around the entire Leaf Village to him, and always know exactly what was going on within seconds.

But that's not what's important right now, what's important is that I sit down and get sleepy. It's like being half-awake when I search through the earth for chakra signatures, like…when you're just waking up, but you haven't opened your eyes yet, and could fall back asleep in seconds if you didn't.

"Are you ready?" Utakata stares at me expectantly, his tiny amount of faith likely coming from the fact that he's already seen me do this once.

I nod, approaching and sitting down next to him. "Yeah, and I have an idea. Hotaru has spent a lot of time around you, so if I use you to ground myself, then traces of your chakra on her or hers on you might lead me right to her." And if nothing else, I can say that I tried the best I could.

"Ground you? How is that supposed to work?" It's a reasonable question, but not one that I'm going to explain to him right now.

Instead, I sit myself in his lap and close my eyes. "Just don't move."

"Hey!" He makes to push me off, but I stay put, closing my eyes and leaning back against him.

With a deep breath, I work to relax my body, which is made easier when he stops fidgeting and trying to push me away. Honestly, you'd think that I'd snuck ants into his pants or something. I exhale lightly, my voice barely a whisper. "Hotaru…"

With every breath I take, I sink deeper into the scent of holly and cedar, with a hint of eucalyptus-scented soap. It's a bit of a funny smell, but it's warm and calming and…

 _Where are you…?_

I take another deep breath, barely feeling his touch as I relax into Utakata's hold. I sink deeper and deeper as I feel out the world around me. Naruto is a bright spot in the darkness, and Utakata is just as vibrant, his energy leaping out around me. And then…the pull of chakra, flowing from nature and all towards one spot, a hill not far from here.

My eyes flash open and I sit up straight in an instant. "Found her!"


	30. Three Jinchuuriki and One Big Bang

**Right, so I've been thinking about this for a while, but I know that canon left a lot of questions kind of hanging out in the open, or resolved things in ways that either don't make much sense, or just plain piss people off. You know, unsolved mysteries or glaring plotholes. So, I pose the question to all of you. What plotholes/problems with canon/stuff that you just really didn't appreciate would you like to see addressed? I can't promise that I'll resolve all of them (since I do have a certain plot in mind and several weird twists that make some kind of insane sense in my head), but I know that there's probably some fan favorite fails out there that you guys would rather see rewritten. So, review and let me know!**

 **Also, there are little tidbits scattered throughout this chapter that are going to be really important later. They're like little bits of hidden Halloween candy. Try to find them all, okay?**

* * *

"Are you sure that this is the way to Hotaru?" Naruto turns to me as we race through the trees towards the source of the two chakra signatures I sensed only a few minutes ago. "I don't see anything but trees."

"No, she's right." Utakata narrows his eyes slightly as he glances back at Naruto. "The chakra in the air is flowing this way. It's all being pulled from the atmosphere and terrain to a single location."

I'm not sure if I should be impressed that he noticed it, or not surprised in the slightest that he did. Utakata is just full of talents from what I can tell, and highly observant on top of that. "You have sensor abilities."

He nods ever so slightly as he turns his head back in the direction of the flowing chakra. "It comes with practice."

"And an aptitude for it in the first place." I'm not naive about that sort of thing, I know that a lot of skills can certainly be learned with persistence and practice, but some abilities just can't get that strong without an innate talent for them. Sensing chakra is one of those abilities, and clearly, his ability is higher than your average shinobi.

"Perhaps." He stubbornly refuses to look at me, but he's already told me everything I need to know.

But for now, investigating Utakata's abilities will largely have to wait. And I've seen enough of his combat abilities to at least have a sense of how any fight we engage in is going to work. And what I don't know, I'll probably be able to pick up on the fly. Naruto, on the other hand, hardly needs to know how to fight in conjunction with our new friend. He'll just charge ahead and leave me to bridge the gap, which is fine, it's basically what I'm here for already.

"…So why's the chakra gathering?" It's official, Naruto is clearly bored. And maybe not really thinking with his head today either.

I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose in a single moment of frustration. "Naruto, if there's chakra moving, a girl kidnapped, and a forbidden jutsu involved, what do you THINK is happening?" By process of elimination, it's nothing good at the very least.

"Oh, right." I can feel his frown on my back. "So what do you think this forbidden jutsu is supposed to do, anyway? The old man said that it could destroy whole villages, but he didn't really explain how."

Right, because somehow, I'm supposed to know that. "Shockwave, explosion, setting off a natural disaster, warping the space around it with a space-time ninjutsu…take your pick." Forbidden jutsu are generally forbidden for a good reason, and any of those would certainly qualify considering the amount of chakra gathering.

And right then, I could swear that Utakata growls. Like an animal. "If the two of you have time to talk, then you're not moving fast enough."

I shoot him a dirty look as I slam my foot against another branch, shattering it as I leap off of it. "Trust me, you do not want me to be the one setting the pace. All I need are my wings, and I would leave the two of you eating my dust. Doing that would ruin the reason for going there together. As in as a team. Secondly, we're making good time, and by pacing ourselves like this, we won't be exhausting ourselves before we get there."

He glares at me for a moment, before his expression softens and calms. "I suppose you're right. Tiring ourselves out won't do anyone any good, least of all Hotaru."

"Exactly." It's good that he sees things my way. Besides, we're already within two kilometers of her from what I can tell, so it shouldn't be long now. "Shiranami will probably be alone with her since we caught his four henchmen, but we should be prepared to deal with a sneak attack anyway, just in case he held an ally in reserve."

"A diversion, then." Utakata's features remain schooled for the most part, but I can see a hint of worry flicker across his face as we draw closer to the site of the chakra convergence. "If we keep his eyes focused on a single target, or on two, whoever is left could launch an attack from the shadows. But to do that, we would need a sacrifice."

"Or someone nearly impossible to kill, loud, and who can draw all of his attention." And while normally I would hesitate with such a plan, it wouldn't be like offering up a teammate to be slaughtered. After all, our kind are pretty damn hard to kill.

Naruto laughs behind me. "I gotcha. I got it covered. You hang back and get all your ninjutsu ready. As long as you don't trap me with him, hit him with everything you've got, okay?"

"Alright." With Naruto on board, I'll definitely be able to get the jump on this guy. And with Utakata here as well… "By the way…" My eyes flick between the two of them. "I told Utakata about me."

"Huh?" Naruto blinks, confused by my vague admission. "What do you mean you told him?"

I sigh, closing my eyes a moment, opening them again to see in thermal vision. "He knows about Suzaku."

Naruto goes dead silent for a second, before his temper nearly explodes from worry. "What do you mean you told him!? Why the hell would you tell him something like that!?"

"Because I knew what she was as soon as we met." Utakata glances back, visibly disgruntled. "And I know that you're like her as well."

Naruto gapes like a fish, so I shake my head. "Don't you mean like us?"

Cue more gaping. "Whoa, what do you mean like us? Are you saying he's a…" Naruto trails off as Utakata shuts him a look, practically commanding him to shut up. "You're…a jinchuuriki too?"

Utakata simply falls silent, so I look on ahead to evaluate our situation. "We've probably got just a couple of minutes before we arrive, so let's decide now. Who is the diversion, who will be launching the sneak attack?"

"I'll go with Naruto. It will look least suspicious if you're the one missing." Utakata's logic is sound and I can already see how the two of them could provide a sufficient distraction. And Shiranami would be more likely to believe that two people came to save Hotaru, rather than one. And with both of them in front of him, he would be less likely to notice me.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Naruto grabs my arm as we come to a set of half-ruined stairs. "Is it true that he's a jinchuuriki too?"

"Yes, Naruto, he is." Not that this is the time or place to be discussing such a thing. "But keep focused, we're about to arrive." I bend my knees and take a flying leap up the stairs, hitting about halfway up before I start running again. And unsurprisingly, Utakata catches up in an instant, followed shortly by Naruto. "Naruto, take point, Utakata, I'm trusting you to watch his back out there. Meanwhile, I'll be watching both of yours, and if Shiranami makes a move I don't like, I'll put him on the ground." Or die trying, though I hope it won't come to that. There's still plenty of people out there more dangerous than Shiranami that I have to keep as far away from Naruto as possible.

"Right!" Naruto springs ahead, increasing the distance between us as he disappears over the top of the stairs, followed closely by Utakata. "HOTARU!"

While the boys storm the beaches, or mountain as it were, I leap into the trees surrounding what appears to be some sort of old temple. Or maybe it's a ritual tower. Either way, this place gives me the creeps.

 _Okay…now is your chance. While Naruto keeps this guy distracted, it's up to you to figure out just what the hell is going on here. And more importantly, you gotta figure out how to stop it without killing anyone._ It's a tall order, to be sure, but it's one that I am fully intent on fulfilling.

The only reads that I'm getting off this guy are rude, arrogant, and entitled. With a side of delusional and dangerous as well, apparently. _Seriously? He thinks that a forbidden and destructive jutsu is the way to revive a clan? How is destroying everything going to solve anything?_ It's worrisome in that…it makes me wonder just what Sasuke meant when he said that he was going to revive the Uchiha Clan all those years ago. I can't imagine that he meant something like this, but…well, it hardly matter now that Naruto is going off on his soap box.

I shake my head, clenching my fists tightly. _Right. None of that matters. Right now, Hotaru is in danger. There will be time to think about Sasuke later._

 _That's right, Chick._ That ever-comforting and familiar voice echoes through my head, warming me gently. _Be cautious, this man is accumulating dangerous levels of natural energy within her. The body of a human can only contain so much natural energy without aptitude or training before either the mind breaks or the body fails. The pressure must be released, and the shockwave contained._

 _A shockwave, huh?_ I can't say that I didn't see that coming. It figures that a jutsu designed to cause mass destruction would have a shockwave component built into it just to make sure that it could flatten everything in its path.

Though, judging by the turning in the conversation, and distinct lack of fighting, it sounds like it's Utakata's turn to get on the soap box. I can't quite hear what he's saying at this distance, but from the inflections in his tone, and the tension in his shoulders, I can tell that he's just a few wrong steps away from attacking this guy outright. _I guess we jinchuuriki have something in common other than our power._ A dislike for seeing people being mistreated by those who are more powerful than them.

I watch, waiting for just the right moment to strike. Though, with the way that these three are carrying on, I might end up waiting a while. And here I thought Naruto talked a lot right before a battle, but this Shiranami guy is something else. _Whatever, I'll make use of whatever advantage I can get._

Sitting in a meditative position, I focus on the rapid ebb and flow of the chakra in the vicinity. It's all moving very quickly, unnaturally so. _Alright…so if all of this is heading right for Hotaru and being sucked into her body, then the most important thing right now is to find a way to stop or slow down the flow of energy. The tricky thing is going to be how to do that. Got any ideas, Suzaku?_

For a long moment, he is utterly silent. But I've always been able to trust him to respond if I need him, even if he doesn't have an answer. But maybe today he will. _Perhaps. However, it is a technique I have not seen performed since your grandfather was still alive._

 _Since Grandpa was alive?_ I can't say that I was expecting to hear THAT. I mean…Daisuke Shiryugu died before I was even born. Sure, I remember Grandma Akane, but my grandfather was always a mystery to me. Save for a few key things. He was strong, honorable, and well-loved by his family. My Dad, my aunts, and my uncles really seemed to miss him. So did my older cousins, for that matter. _Alright, so what's this idea of yours?_

He shifts deep within me, so much so that it's almost in a physical sense. _I will help you this time, however, it is a technique that you will one day have to master for yourself._

Well, I suppose that if I'm going to have to learn it eventually, then having someone to walk me through the first attempt won't be so bad. _Alright, let's do it. Tell me what to do._

 _Very well._ His energy spreads in tiny wisps through my limbs, coaxing me to move slightly, positioning me as if to drive a pole through my back and ground my spine. _This will make it easier for the energy to flow in the beginning. However, as you become more adept at it, the exchange will being to feel natural, and your own chakra will come to enter into a fluid relationship with the energy around you. The point is not to draw too much energy into yourself unless you are in a crisis, but to change the shape and flow of it, to direct it according to your will, and not according to the will of another._

 _I see._ It sounds fine in theory, but it also sounds like something that I'm going to have to figure out firsthand and very quickly. After all, there's only so long that someone like Naruto can talk to an enemy before throwing the first punch. _Alright, I'll try it. Please correct me if I'm doing anything wrong._

I take a deep breath, centering myself both mentally and physically as I sink into the state he asks of me. It feels sort of like when I lie down and search out chakra, that feeling of connectedness with the energy around me. But just connecting to it is the easy part, I'm well aware of that. And I have a feeling that riding the current of chakra to find someone's location is going to turn out to be a lot simpler than pulling the energy back. _Whatever…no point in whining about it now._ I just have to DO it.

The energy currents swirl about me as I try to let them curl around me, most of them bypassing me completely as they race towards where Hotaru stands with Shiranami. From my perch, I can see the four of them standing across from each other, Naruto and Utakata staring him down as Hotaru stands frozen in the middle of the temple grounds. Her lack of movement is unnatural, clearly, which means that Shiranami is likely controlling her somehow. _Ninjutsu?_

I lift a hand, examining it as the energy swirls around my fingers, almost visible in the way that it picks up dust and leaves in its wake. _Pull it back, huh? Like…a game of tug of war?_ Maybe it's a childish notion, but it's the only thing that makes sense right now. So I close my eyes, breathing deeply as I try reaching out to the energy around me. I mean, I sort of do it when I search for chakra, it's just that I usually let the chakra pull my senses along, not the other way around. Still, I suppose that there's a first time for everything.

Seconds tick by, and I have to force myself not to growl from frustration. I can touch the energy well enough, that's no problem, but it feels like no matter how hard I try to grab onto it and pull, it just slips through my fingers like water or sand. Damn it! I take a deep breath, forcing myself to calm. Getting angry is not going to help me right now, and that means that it won't help Naruto or Utakata either. _Suzaku, please, I need you to guide me through this. I can't do this all by myself. At least not yet._

A soft rumble echoes not only through my head, but through my chest as well. _Very well, Chick. I will show you what it takes to pull natural energy towards you and into your body._

He shifts around inside of me, or at least it feels as though he does. Like a bird in a cage, which I suppose is an apt metaphor. He's a warm spot, like the feeling of freshly made soup swirling in the stomach. And…it starts getting hotter in there, tight, like someone shoved a hot water bottle inside me and started squeezing.

I flinch as the squeezing intensifies, rising and settling around my lungs. It's hard to breathe. My head feels light. _Suzaku…what's going on…?_

 _You must relax yourself, Chick. You must intensify and concentrate your own energy, use it as a beacon, and throw open the floodgates in order to draw the power towards yourself. You are the channel, and the energy must move THOUGH you._

 _Okay…here goes nothing._ I just hope that this works, otherwise I'll have wasted a lot of time that we don't have. "Come on…open!" My eyes screw up tight as I try to 'throw open the gates', as he puts it. I'm kind of imagining it like opening up a huge door. Or maybe a trapdoor would be more accurate, since I want the energy swirling towards me like water down a drain.

For five beats of my heart, nothing happens, and I can't hear a thing, like there's balls of cotton wedged in my ears. Then, the cotton vanishes, washing away like sand down a river. "Ah!" The sensation nearly sweeps me along with it, easily overwhelming whatever flimsy defense I might have established to protect myself.

 _Well done, Chick._ Suzaku rumbles proudly as the wind picks up around me, the energy slowly pulling off its original course, leaving only a trickle left to feed into Hotaru's body. _Now, draw the energy into your own body, establish a cyclical system of exchange. What you take, you must give back, or your body will be overwhelmed and torn apart._

Yeah, I can definitely feel as much. I'm only a few seconds into…whatever this is, and I already feel like the energy is trying to pull my body apart at the seams. And I don't even HAVE seams.

I take another deep breath as I try to ward off a brewing headache. _Okay…make a cycle of energy…draw the energy in, and then push it back out._ At least, that's what I think Suzaku is telling me to do. But this would be a whole lot easier if I could just-

My eyes snap open as an idea occurs to me. _Yeah, I could try to ground it with the chakra blades!_ I hadn't thought of this application for them when I found them and shoved them into the soles of my sandals, but knowing my family, if they had them stashed away somewhere, it was probably for good reason. Maybe this is that reason.

Ignoring the earlier command to sit down and stay still, I push myself to my feet and plant them firmly against the ground, shoulder-width apart, with the metal bars in the soles fixed to the dirt. _Alright, now…focus…_ I bring my hands together, wrapping my fingers over each other and crossing my thumbs, pinkies stuck out to form a dragon with my hands. _Please let this work._ I straighten my spine and tilt my head towards the sky, completing the imaginary circuit in my mind as the energy begins to flow faster. Floodgates indeed, it feels like I'm holding my ground against a flood trying to wash me away.

"HAAAAAAA!" _Oh, you have to be kidding me._ I groan as my gaze flickers down to Naruto, whose latest bright idea is to charge in with no idea what this guy is capable of. _Damn it! Why couldn't you have babbled a few more minutes, Naruto? You're supposed to be GOOD at that!_

One of those symbols from earlier materializes in the air, stopping Naruto in his tracks as it affixes itself to his forehead. A character that stops movement in its tracks. A kind of ninjutsu meant to give control to one's words. At least, from the perspective of just a rudimentary and preliminary analysis. _This character says…rock, and the one on Hotaru…it's a conjugation of the verb 'to manipulate'. I see…so that must be what was chasing that dove around earlier when Utakata and I were out flying._ Which means that Shiranami was the one trying to prevent us from getting those letters.

 _Well, at least this means that we probably got all of his henchmen. There's been no indication of more of them coming after us, and we probably would have encountered new obstacles if there was one lying in wait for us._ Though, while all of that is good news, this control ninjutsu isn't. From what I can see, it doesn't look like genjutsu. _Maybe…a sealing ninjutsu? But that wouldn't explain that word chasing the dove around earlier. So…like Sai's ability to bring drawings to life? But then what would it count as?_

I enjoy learning about new jutsu as much as the next scholarly ninja. Coming up against one that I know little to nothing about in the middle of a battle with the lives of a lot of people at stake, however…well, that's just straight up annoying, not to mention completely unethical. If you want power, you train for it, you don't put the lives of hundreds or thousands of people at risk just to obtain a power that could backfire as easily as hit the right target. In fact, I wouldn't trust the accuracy of that jutsu at all. From what I've seen, forbidden jutsu have a bad habit of backfiring. After all, Orochimaru found that out firsthand, from what I heard. _He never should have tempted Sasuke away in the first place, and now that fool is dead. The fool before me…well, he's probably going to end up the same way if he keeps meddling with powers that he shouldn't._

Shiranami's movements still for a moment,and I can see his frown from here. He looks around, eyes searching for something. _…What are you looking for now…?_ "Come out! I know you're hiding somewhere nearby!"

My eyes widen and I take a step back, pressing myself against the closest tree. I suppose, in a way, I'm rather lucky that I take after my father. Chocolate hair, emerald eyes, and a healthy tan several shades darker than Naruto's. If I want to hide in a forest at night, only trained trackers or sensors would be able to pick me out from the foliage. Though since the moment I took cover in these trees and let the boys go on ahead, my eyes have proven to be a little less than green.

I blink once, twice, three times, and the world dissolves for a moment, brightening again as a spectrum of warm and cool colors jump to my eyes. Thank you. I know that he has no issues with lending me his eyes, but every time my eyes glow with his sunburst fire, I feel like he deserves my thanks. After all, without him, I wouldn't be able to see so well in the darkness. And right now, Shiranami and Naruto are sticking out most brightly in my thermal vision. Curiously, Utakata's body temperature is visibly different to theirs, like he just emerged from a pool of water, or something. _I wonder if that's because of his Tailed Beast, or if that's the natural state of his body? He's from the Mist, so it really could be either one._

Then he takes off towards Shiranami. Maybe he thought he saw an opening, or maybe Shiranami started running his mouth again. It's harder to pick out particular details like the movements of one's mouth in thermal vision. Especially from what I estimate is about two hundred feet away. The characters were hard enough to pick out, but now… Though I feel fairly safe in guessing that Utakata's sudden stop has something to do with Shiranami putting a similar binding jutsu on him.

 _Alright, I guess it's now or never._ So far, Shiranami hasn't done any serious damage, but I get the feeling that it won't be that way for long. In any case, I've managed to divert the flow of a lot of the energy in the area, letting it flow in through my chest and down through my feet. As Utakata pointed out earlier, it's mode of transportation is the air, so I figure that channeling it into the ground is my best bet to keep it out of Hotaru's body. She's heating up because of the pressure of the chakra, I can see as much from here. If the flow isn't stopped completely and reversed, the jutsu might end up going off right here, instead of wherever Shiranami wants to target.

A small pack of bubbles float through the air towards me, carrying a hint of Utakata's chakra on them. They're blue in my vision, little bursts of contrasting color with the red forms I've been so focused on, and the yellow of the air, heated by my presence. The first one bursts. "Ciara." I blink, a small smile quickly curling my lips. _I see…that's smart._ The second bursts. "It's time." Then the third. "Get ready to move."

I grin, eyes trained on the still moving figure of Shiranami. "On it." _I'll be right there to rescue you two. Just don't worry and leave everything to me._

I close the distance by a hundred and sixty feet in almost an instant, losing the thermal vision and landing just behind one of the huge stone statue heads, fallen long ago during a time when this temple was ransacked. And most surprisingly is a crumbling statue that I hadn't seen from my angle in the forest.

A dragon, with its long, smooth, scaly body, graceful limbs, and mighty wings. It must have been a magnificent sight once, and arguably, it still is, even with one wing broken off, the claws worn away, and several patches of scales missing. I hadn't expected to see such a thing here. But considering what Tonbei said, the fact that this place is in ruins doesn't surprise me. People have forgotten our stories, forgotten our shrines, our temples.

The inscription at the base is worn, but it's still just barely legible. "The second dragon…Ayumu no Ginku." I recognize the name, but only just. It's like a dream half-forgotten, just like the name says. Stepping into a dream of a silver sky.

It's funny, I never thought I would fight so close to a statue of one of those four. And if the meticulous carving is any indication, along with the majestically noble expression on the being's face, this place was dedicated out of the utmost respect.

"I know you're there, so come on out! Or do you not care what happens to your friends!?" Shiranami's voice snaps me out of my daze, hardening my expression in the process. "Stop interfering with the flow of chakra, and maybe I'll let them go. All of you can be my honored guests, witnesses to the reawakening of the forbidden jutsu!"

My fingers twitch, nails digging into the stone statue. _…Yeah, right. Like I'm going to believe a word you say._ I wouldn't trust this guy anywhere near as far as I can throw him. And I could throw him pretty damn far.

I smirk. _Actually, that's a GREAT idea…_

I'm not nearly as adept as my uncle was, but I'm no slouch on the Body Flicker when it comes down to the wire. Come on, you've got this. I close my eyes for a mere moment, flaring my chakra as I take a single step forward, closing what distance remains and flickering directly in front of Shiranami, my leg already in motion when I touch down, driving immediately into his stomach. "Greeting, asshole."

With a muffled curse, he flies through the air "What!? Where did you-" And much to his surprise, and my delight, a bubble explodes behind him, smashing him right into the ground.

I look over my shoulder, frowning at Naruto and Utakata, who still haven't moved an inch. Though, honestly, I doubt that it would really be that hard for them to move if they would just…I dunno focus their chakra and break the ninjutsu? I mean, with a little help from Suzaku, I would be out of there in a second. Even if their demons aren't friendly, it's not like they suddenly don't exist. "Are you two going to join me? Or do you just plan on sitting back and watching the show?"

Naruto's grimace transforms into a smirk in an instant. "…Damn…you…" And Utakata doesn't look particularly pleased either. At least, not if the thickening tension in the air is any indication.

It begins with a flicker, but fiery red chakra erupts from them both, rising up in vicious clouds as, just like the time when Naruto used it to force all of his chakra points back open when he fought Neji during the Chunin Exams so long ago, it serves to erase the inky bindings on the both of them.

"H-how? My Word Binding Jutsu…how did it fail?" Those soulless black eyes stare hauntingly at us. "Those chakra levels…they're extraordinary!"

"And that would be why you can't hold them. Why you can't hold any of us." I glare at him, spitting out the words irritably. "And a good thing, too, otherwise there would be no one to stop you from running amok and killing innocent people left and right like a genocidal maniac."

"Are you starting to get it now!?" Naruto pumps his fists into the air, advancing on Shiranami to stand in a protective formation with me. "We'd never let you control us that easily!"

Utakata uses the distraction to spring off towards Hotaru. Predictably, Shiranami moves to ensure that his plan doesn't fail immediately, which leaves him wide open for Naruto and I to catch him with his pants down. Figuratively, at least.

"Now!" Naruto grins at me as he masses a small army of clones, tossing them at Shiranami four or five at a time, forcing the man to divide his focus between immobilizing and destroying each of them.

I shake my head at the sight. _What a fool. While Naruto keeps him busy, Utakata is already off to save Hotaru, and all I have to do is wait for the right opportunity to slip in through the clones and take him out._ Which should be coming up pretty fast now. _And…now!_

Naruto races through his own clones, dodging back and forth as he comes at Shiranami from a blind spot. I'm not sure if I should applaud him for sensing Naruto's approach and turning to meet it, or laughing at him for turning just in time to get punched in the face.

 _Oh well, it's my turn._ Naruto's punch sends him flying right towards where I'm waiting, so I leap into the air, pushing off the nearest ruined wall and shooting myself down, palm outstretched as I target his lower rib cage and smash him into the ground with a palm strike stuffed full of medical ninjutsu. And decidedly not the fun kind as I feel his ribs breaking under my power.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" His choked shriek nearly bursts my poor ear drums at this distance as he slams into the dirt and stone of the temple floor.

"Naruto! Utakata!" I press my knee into Shiranami's back for a moment, making sure he's down for the count, before pressing my hands to the ground and lifting myself up and over his head, flipping forward onto my feet. "How is she doing!?"

The two of them race to Hotaru, looking her over as I jog up to them. But despite putting Shiranami on the ground, that damn mark on her arm is still in place. We're not going to be able to move her anywhere until we get rid of both that and the accumulating energy.

"You…fools…" My heart skips a beat as that grating voice reaches my ears. "I…win…" I look over my shoulder just in time to see Shiranami, bleeding from the mouth, make a single hand sign before collapsing back into the dirt.

"No." _He didn't…_ My eyes fall back on Horatu, and the collection of energy ceases abruptly, the end of the scroll in her back pulsing with light. "Damn it!"

"Hotaru!" Naruto reaches out to shake her, only to be repelled by the chakra surrounding her.

Light blasts up around her as she screams, shooting straight into the sky and through the clouds, blasting them to smithereens. No… It can't just end like this. I can't let it…

Nevertheless, the sky lights up, glowing with an eerie light as the light blasts back towards us on the ground. My mouth opens, and instead of a scream, it's a command that spills from my lips. "Get out of the way!" _This is holy ground, a place where the power of ancient god-like figures once resided. Right? So if that's the case, even if this isn't some deity's power, this place should be able to contain it, right? So if I treat my body like a lightning rod…_

I reach a hand to the sky, not letting my fear stay my hand. _Focus…in and out…like a breath. Drive the power through my body and into the ground._ A simple concept, but when the energy touches down…all I can feel is sheer agony. I can't even hear myself scream as the energy blasts through me and into the ground.

A hand grabs onto my wrist, gripping it tightly as the energy course through my body and into the ground. It's too much for me to contain, but I can't even form the words needed to tell them to run. I try to pull away, but the grip is firm and unyielding, and the chakra is… Utakata? It's warm and powerful, and oh so familiar…

 _Saiken…_ Suzaku's voice rumbles approvingly through me as the weight of the chakra on my shoulders lessens, allowing me to start breathing again. I hadn't even realized that I'd stopped. It's like being suspended and floating aimlessly in an ocean of chakra, which, admittedly, is something I never thought I'd experience. And honestly, I'd rather not do this again.

But Utakata's grip on my wrist tightens just a fraction, almost painfully tight as he grounds me back in reality. A reality where the previously white light all around us turns a fiery orange. Utakata…? He can't possibly be doing what I think he is. It feels like he's absorbing all of the energy right into his Tailed Beast Cloak. I hadn't thought of that since I often bypass that step entirely.

"H-help me…" The words are warbled, warped by the crushing force around us, but I know my own voice when I hear it.

An amber gaze finds me, warming slightly as he nods. "There's too much energy in her body, she can't contain it. Can I count on your help?"

I nod slowly, one hand still planted firmly against the ground. "Tell me how. Please."

"I will absorb the chakra and direct the rest of it through you. It will most likely be painful." He grimaces as he wraps an arm around Hotaru, connecting the three of us and completing the circuit. "Get ready."

"I am." I only wish that were really true, but for their sake, I'll have to be. "Open it up!"

"Right!" The cloak around him grows bright, strong, lightening to white as it solidifies around us into six waving tails of wet, slimy slug to contain the blast.

My nerves explode with angry fire as he hits me with it all at once, using me as the lightning rod to drive the entire strike into the ground. The stone floor beneath us shatters under the mass of power. And that leaves everything to be swallowed up in a world of white.


	31. Ominous Portents

**Alright, so my question from last chapter is reiterated (since it looks like the glitches really threw people off from reading it). Are there any plotholes, mysteries, or things that ticked you off that you'd like to have solved in canon through this story? Because it's going to start veering off in weird directions very soon, and I've got the plot running circles in my head and there's going to be a few…curveballs, to put it mildly.**

 **Also, I decided to put a lot of dreaming in this chapter because it just seems to be a good time for it. Look forward to some nice Itachi and Shisui moments, and an early hint of Sasuke too. You'll see a lot of him again in a couple of chapters.**

* * *

 _"Are you sure that this is a good idea, Shisui?" Itachi bounces me up and down in his arms and he sounds kind of scared. I don't know why, nothing's gonna happen. This is Uncle Shishi's idea! He always has good ideas!_

 _Shisui grins widely with a big backpack over his shoulder and a picnic basket in his other hand. "Of course it is, she's four. It's not like we're doing what your Dad did and taking her to a battlefield. It's just the training grounds."_

 _"Yes, but…" Itachi looks up at me and his grip tightens. Oh, and his eyes are pretty, even if he looks a little scared. "She's not me, or you for that matter, it's not safe for her to be off her clan's grounds."_

 _"Yes it is, Itachi. We both made it into the ANBU, so if someone sneaks into the village to try something, we should be able to at least buy enough time to get her to safety." Shisui pats him on the shoulder and his smile makes me smile. "Besides, we'll be in our clan's training grounds, surrounded by the police force, not parading her around the village market with bells, whistles, and horns. Short of keeping her locked up here, there's no safer place in the whole village for her."_

 _Itachi sighs, so I smile brightly at him. "It'll be okay Chichi. I'm safe with you and Shishi, right?" Even I know that they're awesome elite ninja. "Sumi told me so."_

 _"Sumire told you, huh?" Shishi laughs, shaking his head. I don't get it, though, isn't Sumire right? "Well, if Sumire told you, then that's it, right? Because your big cousin is always right."_

 _"Well, yeah, duh." I tilt my head. "So why is your head saying no?"_

 _"Huh?" Shisui blinks, then laughs loudly. "Oh, sorry, that's a habit I guess. Just pay attention to what my mouth says, not what my head does, okay?"_

 _"Okay." If he says so, then it's okay. "So you're taking me to your house?" That's where all the police live. Or at least that's what Itachi says._

 _He sighs again. Or maybe he's yawning? Is he tired. "Yes, we'll be going near my house." Oh, then maybe he doesn't want to go home? But he's smiling, so that can't be it. "Shisui's right. We'll be there to make sure that nothing happens."_

 _"Yay!" I don't really ever get to leave home, so it's kinda like an adventure! But I'm not sad that I stay home all the time, not at all. I have my Mom and Dad, and my Aunts and Uncles are sometimes home, there's always at least one or two of them around, even if the others are at work or on missions. Itachi and Shisui go on missions too, but they always make time to come and see me. But I've never seen where they live before, so this should be a lot of fun!_

 _"Then let's go." Shisui puts his hand on Itachi's shoulder, since Itachi is busy holding me. Then, everything goes all fuzzy really fast, and everything in front of my eyes changes, it's like magic. Then he does it again and again and again and…whoa…I'm really dizzy._

 _When we finally stop, I wobble a little in Itachi's arms. "Where…are we…?"_

 _"Cia?" Itachi shakes me a little, which really doesn't help. I think…I'm gonna be sick. "Shisui! You flickered too many times!" He puts me down on my knees in some really soft grass and pats my back._

 _"Sorry, I didn't think it would be so hard on her. "I swear that I didn't mean for her to end up like this."_

 _"It's…okay Shishi." I lay down in the grass to make the world stop spinning. Spinning is fun, but only when I'm the one doing it. Everything else is supposed to stay still. "I love you, so it's okay. Daddy says that when you love someone, you forgive them if they do something wrong. Because everybody makes mistakes sometimes. Right?" Daddy says it, so it must be true._

 _Shisui laughs and pats my head gently. "That's right. Everyone makes mistakes. Making mistakes are part of growing up, so you're going to make some mistakes too. But when you do, make sure that you learn from them, because if you make a mistake, it means that you just learn what not to do next time."_

 _"That's right." I can hear Itachi start unpacking the basket. Wait! That means food!_

 _I'm not feeling so sick anymore, so I sit up and turn my head towards the basket, grinning widely when he pulls the sandwiches Mom makes out of it. I love those! They've got sliced chicken in them! "Food!"_

 _"That's right." Itachi passes me a sandwich first, then gets me out a small thermos of juice. That keeps it nice and cold, even though it's summer. "If you're feeling well enough to eat, then make sure you eat well and drink all of your juice. You don't want to faint, do you?"_

 _"No, Chichi!" I don't wanna get all sick and make them take care of me when we could be out playing. So I bite into the sandwich. I can bite really big bites, just like Itachi and Shisui can!_

 _"Easy there, Little Dragon, you don't want to eat so fast that you give yourself a stomach ache anyway. Itachi will blame me for it." Shisui laughs and takes a bite of his own sandwich, but…it's a lot bigger than mine. Darn it! I think that's right, I heard Uncle Eiji say it when he couldn't find his rice balls._

 _"I'm okay, I'm big now!" It's true! I grew a whole two inches since my birthday. Daddy told me so. "I can eat like you two can."_

 _"Is that so?" Itachi ruffles my hair, and his eyes twinkle like pretty stars. "Then can you eat a whole chicken by yourself yet? Or ten riceballs? Maybe a whole cabbage?"_

 _"Uh…" Okay, that sounds like a whole lot of food… "No…but you can't do it either!"_

 _"Yes he can." Shisui snickers. At least, Itachi calls it snickering. "He can eat twelve rice balls after a mission and still have room for five sticks of dango."_

 _"Oh…" I didn't know somebody could eat that much food. "I…can't eat that much, then." But one day I'll catch up to them. "I'll get bigger, and then I'll be able to eat more, just you wait and see!" I take another big bite of my sandwich and chomp on it like a hungry rabbit._

 _"Alright, but don't be in such a hurry to grow up, there's no need for you to do that yet. You should enjoy being little while you can." Shisui finishes his sandwich and reaches for his ninja pouch. Wait, he finished his sandwich already!? "Now, do you know why we came to the training ground?"_

 _"Uh…no?" This is where the big people do their ninja training, right? But my family does theirs behind the house, so maybe… "Are you and Itachi gonna train?"_

 _"Sort of…" Shisui takes out a kunai and flips it around in his hand. He does it just like Uncle Kiyoshi does. "I'm going to teach you how to use one of these."_

 _"You're gonna…" My eyes open wide and I put the rest of my sandwich down in a hurry. No one ever said they were gonna teach me how to use a kunai before. "Really!? You're gonna teach me, Shisui!?"_

 _"That's right." He carefully passes me the kunai, twisting it in my hand so that the pointy tips is far away from me. "Now remember not to touch your skin with it or you'll cut yourself. If you do that, it'll hurt and you'll bleed."_

 _"Okay." Bleeding is bad, and so is pain, I know that because my cousins told me so. "So I just gotta be careful, right?_

 _"That's right. Now, you can either fight in close quarters with a kunai, or you can throw it. You're still a little young to learn the first way to use them, so I'm going to teach you how to throw them, okay?"_

 _"Okay!" I can throw things, so this should be easy! And fun! "Please show me!"_

 _"Alright, then watch this." Shisui pulls out another kunai and points it at a log sticking out of the ground with red rings painted on the side. "Now, you want to try and get it into the middle ring, but don't be upset if you don't hit it on the first try. It takes a lot of practice to get good at it." He throws the kunai and it zooms right through the air and smack the target right in the middle ring. "Now you try."_

 _"Okay Shishi!" I raise the kunai in my hand and throw it towards the target. I tried to throw it hard like Shisui, but it falls right next to the target instead of hitting it. "Oh…"_

 _"That's fine." Shisui hands me a second kunai. "Try and throw it a bit harder. If you step into the throw, you'll add power to it. And try to pull your arm back a little further before you throw it."_

 _"I'll try." It doesn't really sound hard to do, but Shisui is so big… No, I'll do this. I can do this! I'm gonna make Shisui and Itachi proud of me. "Here I go…!" I pull my arm back and step forward, releasing the kunai into the air before falling flat on my face. "Ah! Ow…"_

 _Itachi sighs again and I feel his hands picking me up instead of Shisui's. "That was a good try, and you got it to go a lot further, but you need to stay balanced and step back once you throw the kunai. It wouldn't be good if you got into a fight and then fell over."_

 _"Yes, Chichi." He's right, I can't go falling over like a baby learning to walk. If I'm gonna be a ninja one day and protect everybody, then I need to learn how not to fall over. He passes me another kunai and walks me a few steps closer to the target. "Try from here. You can get further from the target the harder you practice."_

 _"Okay!" That sounds like a good idea. So I try it like Itachi says, pulling my arm back and throwing the kunai, but stepping back when I'm done throwing. And it works, kinda, but almost tripping is better than actually falling,_

 _"Here, try again." Wow, Shisui has a lot of kunai in that pouch. And he hands the whole pouch to me. "Keep trying, I'm sure that you'll get it if you practice hard. And when you run out, just go and pick them up again and put them back in the pouch, okay?"_

 _"Yes Shishi!" That sounds super easy, so I know I can do it. "I'll practice hard and I'll be as good as you and Chichi really soon!"_

 _"That's the spirit. We'll be watching from right here just in case." He sits back down on the red and blue picnic blanket next to Itachi, smiling encouragingly. "Now make us proud."_

 _"Okay!" I pull a kunai from the pouch and raise it above my shoulder but not above my head, just like Shisui did. "Here goes!" This time, it nearly hit the target when I throw it. It totally skims the edge of the wood! "Ah! Look, I almost did it!"_

 _"Well what do you know? You catch on fast, Little Dragon." Shisui waves at me, still smiling widely. "Keep going. You'll get even closer with more practice, I promise."_

 _"Yeah!" Of course I will. That's how Shisui and Itachi got so good at throwing kunai, so I can do it too! I pick up two more, since I can just hold one in each hand and I won't have to bend down again until they're both gone. I throw the first one, which skims the wood again, then the second, which hits the wood with a dull thud before falling out. "Hey! Look! I made a bigger mark on it this time!"_

 _"Yes, you certainly did." Itachi laughs softly. He always laughs more quietly than Shisui. I wonder why… "Keep trying. You're doing very well."_

 _"I will!" I pick up a couple more and throw the first one a bit harder. It hits the bottom of the target, but it actually stays stuck in the wood! So I just have to throw harder and they'll stick. I can do that. "Here goes…" I throw the next one as hard as I can and nearly fall over, but I catch myself before I hit the grass. "Whoa!"_

 _Then, there's the sound of an angry meow out in the woods and Shisui jumps to his feet. "Ah…please tell me she didn't hit a ninja cat."_

 _"Oh no…" Did I hit something that I wasn't supposed to? "I'm…sorry?"_

 _"Mrrooowrr!" A fuzzy black cat leaps out of the trees, stalking towards me with a kunai in its mouth and a chunk of its fur missing. It drops the kunai in front of me and snarls. "You idiot! Where did you think you were throwing that thing!?"_

 _"I'm sorry…" I sniffle and reach out to pet its fur. "I didn't mean to…I hurt your pretty fur…"_

 _The cat glares at me with glowing yellow eyes and it…growls? Purrs? I'm…not really sure, actually. "…Stupid human. Watch where you're throwing those kunai next time."_

 _"We're very sorry." Shisui starts talking before I can say sorry again. And I really am sorry…I could have hurt the cat really badly… "We were just teaching my niece how to throw kunai. It's her first time and we didn't know that you were out there Tatsuki."_

 _The kitty stops growling and glaring at me, well, at least a little. "I see…so you are teaching your kitten to hunt as you do?"_

 _"Yes, we are, so please forgive her, she's still just learning." Itachi comes to place a hand on my shoulder and one down near the cat's nose. "So will you overlook this unfortunate accident?"_

 _The kitty, Tatsuki, looks me over again with those yellow eyes, flicks her tail, and pushes the kunai towards me with her paw. "Best to practice hard, then, or your next victim might not be as skilled as me." Then, she licks at my tear-stained cheeks and turns away, flicking her tail back and forth as she disappears back into the trees._

 _I sniffle again, wiping at my cheeks with white sleeves. "She's…not angry with me?" But I ruined her pretty fur. Shouldn't that make her really angry with me?_

 _"It's okay…" Itachi ruffles my hair and kisses me on my forehead. "Like you said, everyone makes mistakes, right? The important thing is to forgive someone when they make a mistake."_

 _That's right…the most important thing is to forgive someone when they make a mistake. That's what Daddy said. "Yeah…I guess so." I look up and hold my arms out to Itachi._

 _He smiles softly and reaches down to pick me up. It's nice, being held by him. And he never refuses to pick me up, ever, not even when I started getting big. "You know, you kind of remind me of Sasuke, always wanting a ride somewhere."_

 _"Sasuke?" I tilt my head curiously. "Who's that?"_

 _Itachi kisses my forehead again and holds me close to his chest. "Sasuke is…someone who means the world to me. He's at the academy right now, but maybe I'll introduce you two someday soon."_

 _"Oh…" He means that much to Itachi? "Does that mean you like him more than me?"_

 _"Little dragon…I love the both of you more than words can say…"_

* * *

 _"Remind me…why are we doing this again?" It's so funny to see Sasuke so disgruntled, especially when he's upside-down. "Because I really don't see the point in humiliating myself in front of you."_

 _"You're not humiliating yourself, you're training your flexibility!" Which I have absolutely no problem doing, seeing as I've been doing it for almost as long as I can remember. My uncle Haruki got me started on it when I was little and bored because Itachi and Shisui were on a mission. After all, what better way to entertain a kid than to make them push their physical limits in the name of having fun? "So try to get on my level, okay?"_

 _He glares at me, which still looks absolutely hilarious when he's doing it from between his legs, bent over like a wobbling bridge. "Then I will say it again. The human body is NOT supposed to bend this way!"_

 _"Supposed to? No. But it can, after all, this is how the Hyuga train their Gentle Fist. Or do you want to give up now and concede that they're better than you?" Teasing and goading Sasuke, and Naruto as well, usually seems to have the best results._

 _Cue an even more venomous Death Glare. Seriously, it's like he's trying to kill me with his mind. Or his eyes, that would be a bit more accurate. But still, if he thinks I'm just going to keel over, then he's got another thing coming. Because I'm too stubborn to give up, and he's too stubborn to give up before me. Which, of course, leaves the two of us at a bit of an impasse._

 _"You know, if you keep glaring at me like that, your face is going to get stuck that way." Though in all honesty, that would probably help his situation, at least with all of the girls who swoon over him all the time. He really seems to hate it, and honestly, I can't blame him. They freak ME out, and I'm not even the object of their attention._

 _"Hn." And…we're back to the monosyllables again. I can see why Naruto would find this annoying to listen to day in and day out, but…it's just part of Sasuke, so I'm willing to let it slide._

 _I close my eyes, totally capable of shaking my head and not getting vertigo. "Honestly, Sasuke, you're much more fun to hang out with when you actually use your no doubt fantastic vocabulary. And if you cracked those smiles of yours more often, it would do a lot for making the people who matter actually like you."_

 _"Like me?" His voice sounds…so cold, empty, like…like something terrible happened._

 _So, I open my eyes, only to come face to face, not with a thirteen year-old Sasuke, but sixteen years old, wounded, bloodied, and leaning back against a giant stone slab inscribed with the Uchiha crest. "Sasuke!?" I spring forward onto my feet and race towards him, stopping in my tracks when he flashes his Sharingan at me. "Sasuke…" I hold out my hands in as non-threatening a gesture as I can muster. "What's going on?"_

 _"Stay back." His eyes flash with hostility, suspicion and anger alike._

 _"What's-" I stop myself, frowning slightly. Only a few moments ago, I was face to face with a Sasuke years younger than this. So, I do the only logical thing. I pinch my arm._

 _No pain. This has to be a dream. "I see…" That's disappointing, since it would be nice to see the real Sasuke again soon. But I suppose…seeing him in dreams will have to suffice. For now. "We're coming for you. You know that Naruto and I won't just give up on finding you. Itachi is…" Dead, gone…and I couldn't save him. "…I guess it doesn't really matter anymore…not to you…" I sigh and turn my back, the vision remaining silent. "I guess I'll see you later…after I've woken up." Though how long that will take, I can't say for sure. But I know I'll see him again. There's just no way that I won't._

 _But even if this is a dream, an illusion…I still have one thing that needs saying, and I'll say it to the real him as soon as I can. "Sasuke." I find deep onyx eyes staring at me, the Sharingan now gone. "Please…I just want you to be happy and healthy and somewhere that feels like home. That's all I want for you."_

 _That's all I want for you…_

* * *

My head feels like it just got stepped on my a giant foot, after being put in a box and tossed around, and stuffed into a blender and set on spin. Fuck… Never before have I wanted so badly to just put myself out of my own misery, damn it.

"Are you finally awake now?" _Well hello to you too…_ "You've been asleep for almost a day now. It's time to get up."

I crack my eyes open, glaring slightly as I turn my head to my left to find an amber gaze on me. "You know, you're kind of an asshole sometimes."

His silence fills the room for several excruciatingly long moments. "I know." Then he smiles, and all seems right with the world. Well, at least for now. After all, who knows when the next crisis is going to hit us?

Probably in the next few hours, but I'd rather not jinx it by saying it out loud.

"Well, if I'm up, I might as well actually GET up." I push myself into a sitting position and shake away the cobwebs, though my body aches in protest. "But what happened, anyway? I feel like I got run over by a train."

"I used his power to contain the blast and kept the chakra flowing through you, since you'd opened a current straight into the earth to push it into." Utakata glares disapprovingly. "You channeled the chakra equivalent of a dozen lightning strikes. You should be DEAD."

His power…he means the slug, then…Saiken. That explains a lot. "Tell me something I don't know." I laugh dryly. "I should have been dead a long time ago and several times over, and yet…I'm still here. The same goes for Naruto, Gaara, and probably you too."

"That's true." His amber gaze gives me a once over and he nods slightly. "It looks like you're going to be alright now."

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just needed some sleep after all of that." My cure-all to…just about anything, really. Sleep, and let Suzaku do his thing. "How is Hotaru?"

"She's fine." Better than fine, if the smile on his face is any indication. "It seems that in unleashing and containing the forbidden jutsu, it was destroyed. It disappeared completely from Hotaru's back, there isn't even a scar."

"Really?" I hadn't expected THAT to happen, but I guess this just means that things are looking up now. Hotaru is safe, the jutsu is out of her body, and we held up our side of the agreement without hurting her. But… "Wait, then what about those ANBU from the Mist?" If I recall correctly, part of the agreement was that we would hand Utakata over once this mission was finished. And honestly…I really don't want to risk his life by handing him over to some foreign ANBU. To them, he's a rogue ninja, which means that there's an implicit kill on sight order. And despite what their intentions seem to be, I don't trust them with his safety.

Unexpectedly, Utakata doesn't look particularly worried about them. "I'm going to go and meet with Tsurugi. I'm planning to ask for permission to travel and train Hotaru?"

"You're…" That was as far from what I was expecting as possible. "You're going to do what Jiraiya did with us, then?"

He nods. "That's right. Naruto told me some more about this master of yours while you were asleep, and I think that it would be good not to have to look over my shoulder at every turn."

"Yeah, I bet it would be." Unfortunately, even if he gets permission from the Mist to do that and get his name out of the bingo book, he'll still have to watch his back constantly. "There's still the Akatsuki, though. So make sure that you keep an eye out anyway. They've gotten six of us so far and it doesn't look like they're going to be slowing down any time soon, even if we've cut their numbers in half." Deidara, Sasori, Hidan, Kakuzu, Itachi…that's half their number gone, but I'm not stupid, I know that it'll just make them even more aggressive, to make up for their lack of manpower. And that's assuming that they haven't all been replaced already.

"I see…" He grows quiet and contemplative, his amber eyes fixed on the floor. "So then those are the ones I've been hearing rumors about."

"Most likely." I don't really have to ask, not when there isn't technically a war going on. Right now, the single largest threat to anyone is the Akatsuki. There's not likely to be a lot of rumors flying around about anything other than them right now, especially not when their Bijuu hunt is coming slowly to a close. "So my offer still stands. If you need a place to hide out, Hotaru too, then come to the Leaf and find the highest mountain down past the south gate. I'll be there to welcome you, and I promise that you'll be safe there." Because after what happened the last time someone was too trusting, too complacent with security, I've decided that one of my top priorities now is to turn the mountain back into an impregnable fortress, just like in the old stories.

That warming amber gaze drifts back to meet mine. "Thank you. Maybe someday I'll take you up on that offer."

"Then I'll be sure to cook you up a feast." I smile sadly, thoughts drifting in and out about the things that I have left to do when I go home. Foremost of which…is building a proper memorial for Itachi. I just wish…that I at least had a body to bury, but I suppose that would be asking for too much. And that will have to wait, anyway, since there's still a few things left to do here. It seems like those sorts of things always have to wait. "Anyway, what's going on? Where are we?"

Utakata reaches towards the sliding door, opening it to reveal a hallway, and a garden beyond that. "We're in the village right now. The villagers have welcomed Hotaru and Tonbei back, and we've been using it to recuperate before your team heads back to the Leaf."

"I see." That makes sense. It also likely means that I've been out for quite a while. "Are the others alright?"

He nods, a faint smile on his face. "Yes. Your team is doing well, and the forbidden jutsu disappeared from Hotaru's body. Shiranami is being detained by the villagers while they decide what to do with him. But I imagine that they'll probably give him to the Leaf to be put in prison."

"Probably." After all, our prison is the most secure in the entire nation. And it's too dangerous to take half-measures with someone as dangerous as that guy. "Is there anything else I should know? Or is it about time to go and see Tsurugi?" If I recall correctly, that's the name of the leader of the group of ANBU currently pursuing him.

"I was going to go soon. I just…" He looks me up and down, eyes narrowing slightly, as though looking for injuries.

"You wanted to make sure that I was going to be okay?" I recognize the look in his eyes, it's the same kind of look that Itachi used to give me, if a little more detached than my uncle. I smile gratefully. "Thanks, but I'll be okay. I'm like you, remember? We jinchuuriki are pretty sturdy. And even when we're not, we've got some pretty impressive recovery rates."

That puts a smile back on his face. "You've got that right. Are you alright to move, then?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I roll the blanket off of me, folding it over, the futon along with it. "So let me just check in with Yamato and the others, and then I'll go with you to see Tsurugi." Because, the man's intentions aside, I don't really trust them with Utakata's safety. For all I know, they might kill him on the spot, and that's not something that I'm going to allow to happen. "What are you going to say to him, anyway?"

"Well…" He looks outside and up into the sky. "I was thinking…that I would go on a journey with Hotaru. To train her."

"Is that so…?" I laugh softly. It reminds me of when Jiraiya came to get me and Naruto out of the hospital so that he could drag us around the great nations for a couple of years. If Utakata is planning to do the same with Hotaru, then it makes me glad. Those kinds of journeys are good for forging bonds. "I hope that you take well to your student, then. The old man that Naruto and I trained under was a hell of a pervert, but he's got a good heart. He's also pretty good at training us, if we can get him to focus on something other than breasts long enough to actually talk to us."

He makes a comically disgusted face. "I don't think that I want to be that sort of master."

"No, I imagine not." I push off the floor and land on my feet, stretching my arms high over my head. "Alright, let's check in with the others, then get going. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can head home." I grin at him, winking playfully. "And the sooner the two of you can come around for a visit."

"Right." He shakes his head, but the smile doesn't seem to be going anywhere. And it makes my heart glow to see that smile, since when we first met, he was on the sullen side. It…makes me happy to see him happy.

There's a lot of people that I would like to see happy. And someday, I hope that I'll be here to see it, and that I'll have the strength to protect that happiness.


	32. The Path to Pain

**Alright, so this chapter is going to lead to a series of divergences that I really debated over, but the more I debated them in my head, the more convinced I became that this is the right way to go. It's going to change some dynamics a fair bit, but I hope that this goes over as well as I see it being written out. You will get to see the first effects of this ripple next chapter.**

* * *

"I don't know about this…" Yamato crosses his arms, frowning as I stand before him. "I'd rather not put you right in front of ANBU from another village, especially alone."

"But I won't be alone, I'll be with Utakata, and together, the two of us are more than capable of handling a squad of ANBU if it really comes down to it." Not that I expect it to come to that. "Besides, this is going to be a diplomatic negotiation, and it's best that I go with him because then we'll have a representative of the Leaf to prove that we upheld our end of the bargain, but not so many that they'll immediately see themselves as outgunned."

"Yes, but you're a special case and you know that." He really doesn't want to let me go. I mean, I guess I can't blame him, but it's not like I'm going to fall to a bunch of ANBU. If it really comes to blows, then we both have little friends who can help us out in a pinch.

Still, I have to make my case. "If I go with Utakata, then the four of you can go on ahead, and I can fly back to you and catch up quickly. I'm the best one to leave behind, because if the worst happens, I can get myself, Utakata, and Hotaru out of reach before the ANBU know what hit them. I could trap them in a genjutsu while I fly the three of us out of there. But considering that I met these ANBU while running around looking for Naruto, I'm fairly confident that we won't have any trouble if we're looking to negotiate something like Utakata's freedom." Tsurugi seemed a decent enough guy, so I don't really see the need for my contingency plans.

Yamato sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "I don't like this. It leaves you too exposed."

"Exposed to a squad of ANBU whose tricks you guys have described to me in great detail. They won't catch me off guard if they try anything." And besides, if nothing else, watching them wield their water and lightning ninjutsu might actually help me figure out how to finish stabilizing my own attempts at producing lightning. Which, in my most recent attempts, are proving to blow up only ten percent of the time. Granted…that ten percent is pretty extreme, but I'm cutting it down bit by bit. So I'm confident that with some more training, and maybe some more demonstrations, I'll finally nail it.

Another sigh. "…Fine. When do you plan on going?"

"In a few hours." I figure that we should at least give Hotaru time to pack, and Utakata time to figure out what he's going to say. "So I'll catch up with you guys by dinnertime. Make sure to keep an eye on the sky around then, I wouldn't want to land on top of you." Because tree cover can make landing a real bitch sometimes, and I would be lying if I said I've never accidentally landed on top of Naruto while we were off training with Jiraiya.

He REALLY doesn't seem to like that. "In that case, maybe we should delay our departure."

"It'll be fine, besides, none of you cover ground as quickly as I do, Naruto has his mouth and temper that get him into trouble, Sakura just doesn't really know what's going on, and Sai…" Jeez, sending him would probably be a disaster. "He's a little emotionally stunted to be dealing with negotiations, he's good at reading body language, but not at reading emotional cues. So I really am the best choice. And you can't stay, you're the team captain."

"Alright, alright…point taken." And the way he throws his hands up tell me that I've won this argument. "But make sure that you're back by dinnertime, or I'll have Naruto send his clones to look for you."

"Yeah, I've got it." This is going to be a piece of cake. As long as I keep those little ANBU from making any moves I don't like, then Utakata will have plenty of opportunity to convince Tsurugi to let him become a wandering ninja, like Jiraiya, so that he can train Hotaru without being hunted by his village. After all, it would take a lot of weight off his shoulders if his name were taken out of the Bingo Book. "But don't slow down on my account. You guys head back as fast or slow as you like, and whatever the distance is, I'll make sure to catch up." After all, with a giant pair of red wings, that's not going to be too terribly difficult to manage.

"Fine…" He looks like he wants to scream, sort of. It's a weird look on his normally calm and pleasant face. "But if you're late…"

"I know, I know, you'll send the Naruto army after me." And the last thing I need is Naruto getting overzealous in tracking me down. Knowing him, he would overdo it in an instant and need me to heal him. Again.

The frequency with which that happens frightens me.

* * *

"It's so kind of you to come with us today, Miss Ciara." Hotaru smiles brightly at me, clearly not completely aware of my reason for being here. "But what about Naruto and the others?"

"They'll be fine without me for a little while." The scent of flowers tickles my nose as we move through the massive field. It kind of reminds me of some of the fields back home. "Once I'm done with my business here and I know that the two of you will be able to travel freely, then I'll take off and meet up with the others. I'm faster than them, so I chose to stay behind to make sure everything goes smoothly."

"Goes smoothly?" She looks at me curiously. "What do you mean?"

Utakata stops moving by a big rock jutting up in the middle of the field. "Hotaru, will you wait here for me for a little while?"

"Huh?" She looks between the two of us, obviously confused. "Why?"

"I'm going to speak with the ANBU Black Ops. I'm…tired of all this running." And I can't blame him, I wouldn't be very happy about being in his shoes. "I want to get permission to travel and train you."

"And I'm going with him to make sure that no one tries anything funny." I smile reassuringly at her. "So don't worry, all you have to do is sit here and wait for us. Once they've struck a deal, we'll come back here, and then I'll head home. Okay?"

That puts a grand smile on Hotaru's face. "Really? That's great!" She's certainly eager to get a start on her training, and she must realize that this is the first step on that journey. "Then I'll wait right here for you." She slips her backpack off and places it next to the rock, sitting herself down next to it as she relaxes in the flowers. "Okay?"

"Sure." I smile softly at her, then turn my head towards the trees. They'll be waiting out there for us. Because if nothing else, Tsurugi seemed observant enough. He probably at least has a feeling that we're coming, if not knowing it outright. I wouldn't put it past him to be keeping an eye on us right now.

"Come on." Utakata tilts his head towards the trees. "The sooner we meet with them, the sooner we can put this all behind us." While I can't fault his logic, he feels rather on the optimistic side today. Maybe Naruto rubbed off on him. Naruto has a habit of doing that.

He's right, though. "Sure." The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can expect to have him and Hotaru paying me a visit.

My eyes tingle as the world swirls around me into a bright array of colors denoting heat. "I'll keep a look out." If anything alive comes at us, I'll see it. Right down to the squirrels leaping about the branches above our heads as we pass together from the fields into the cover of the trees. "We should see just about anything coming a mile away."

"Good." Already, I can see those tiny distortions in my field of vision characteristic of his bubbles. A strange, wavering yellow that blends the cool surface of the bubble with his warm breath. "Then now, we wait."

"And search." Because his bubbles could take forever to find the ones we're looking for. It's faster if we have more than one plan of attack. My gaze flicks about as I spring forward, searching out every warm body, every hint of living movement. I've always loved how convenient Suzaku's eyes are, they show me all sorts of things that will serve me well when I take a place in Naruto's ANBU. Without these eyes, the sheer size of this forest would make it near impossible to find anyone lurking about in here, thermal vision or not.

"Come, let's try this way." Utakata points in the direction of the stream where he and the team had their first unfortunate encounter with the ANBU. Or at least, that's what I was told.

"Alright." I blink twice, shifting slightly out of thermal vision and halfway into the enhanced color vision that Suzaku personally seems to favor. Everything is vibrant and colorful, but with distinct thermal glows. Convenient, if a little disorienting. Though I suppose if you had decades, or even centuries to get used to it, you might not mind it so much. _Not sure how you manage it all the time, though…_

 _Practice, Chick, it is all about practice._ His soft voice rumbles within me, setting my mind immediately at ease. _But remain vigilant, there is no telling what sort of being roam these vast forests._

 _Duly noted._ I smile as Utakata leads me through a patch of thick underbrush and to the riverbank. "Suzaku says that we should be careful. I think he's worried about there being bears here. Or giant boars. That's happened a few times." I remember Itachi once telling me a story about hunting a giant boar on a mission. But it was so long ago that the details are kind of fuzzy. It probably didn't help that I was more interested in tugging on his ponytail at the time. I mean, could anyone blame me? He was just growing it out, so it was new and utterly fascinating to a four-year-old.

"Giant boars, you say?" Utakata grows quiet for a moment, checking the bark on the trees carefully. "Well, there's no sign of anything that large thrashing around this area, so I doubt we'll have to deal with any."

"Good to know." Yeah, having a giant boar or two coming to crash the party would be fairly irritating. The ANBU are going to be fun enough to deal with, the last thing we need is a party-crasher. "Have your bubbles found anything yet? My eyes aren't picking up anything apart from you, me, and the animals on thermal." Not to mention that there doesn't seem to be anything larger than a rabbit moving about in the color half.

He raises a hand, frowning as the closest bubble pops in his palm. "Nothing yet. And we're far enough from Hotaru that Tsurugi shouldn't be worried about involving her."

That's true. We're quite a few miles deep in this place. "Time sure flies when you're looking for ANBU Black Ops."

"Yeah…" But the tension leaking into his voice worries me. "Come on, let's search the area. Tsurugi and his men should be around here somewhere."

"Well, they're not, but I guess we could look for their trail." If they were here, I would know. Concealing your image is one thing. It's hard, but not impossible. Concealing your scent is quite difficult, but once in a while, you might find a ninja with so little scent, that they can use ninjutsu to conceal the rest of it. But body heat? Good luck trying to hide that. Unless you dive a hundred feet underwater, your heat signature is going to show up, and even that isn't a guarantee.

Utakata jumps over the water and lands on the other riverbank, then pushes a couple of bushes aside, clearing a path to a grove further up the river. "I found something!"

"Really?" I leap over, curious as to what he could have found over there. I didn't see any heat signatures over this way, but maybe they've moved on from this place. "What did you fi-" I stop dead in my track as I look over Utakata's shoulder, lowered towards the ground as he kneels to examine a bloodied ANBU mask. "…Shit." That can't be good. "Is that…"

"It's Tsurugi's." He rises to his feet, bringing the mask up with him as he clutches it between his fingers. "It's recent, but the blood is dry."

"So recent, but not too recent…" Which means that if there's a body, or bodies, to go with it… "No wonder I can't pick up any heat signatures." After all, a corpse doesn't register like a living person does. My eyes peer into the trees, searching out the heat signature or signatures of whoever might have done this. "But I don't see anyone else…"

"They can't be too far." Utakata tucks the mask safely into his kimono. "We should see if there were any survivors. I'll send my bubble out a-" He freezes, and for good reason, because a shiver goes up my spine. But as far as I can see, we're the only two living things in this whole area.

 _Wait…_ Something is very wrong here. The two of us are the only sources of heat in this whole place. There aren't even any birds or squirrels or other small animals. There's just…

Silence.

My chakra blade wrist-guards are in my bag. I didn't think that I was going to need them, so I'd tucked them into a transportation scroll for safekeeping. I don't need those to take care of some ANBU.

Now, I'm kind of wishing I'd kept them on my arms.

I look over my shoulder, nothing coming up on thermal at all, so Suzaku slides me into full color vision. _Be ready, Chick, we are not alone._

 _Yeah, I can tell._ One by one, multiple flares of the same chakra burst into being, concealed by the thick tree trunks. "Utakata."

"I know." He turns to stand by my side, twisted slightly so that his back is partly covered by mine.

"The Six-Tails' Jinchuuriki host…" A deep voice echoes from behind one of the trees. "Accompanied by the elusive Ten-Tails." A man as tall as Utakata, with hair a bright, but shadowed orange, steps out from behind the tree. He's followed by five more, all bearing a similar color scheme. Orange hair, black robes, and a profusion of red clouds.

Akatsuki.

Utakata shifts slightly next to me. "Are you the ones who killed Tsurugi and his men?"

The man speaks again, disregarding the question. "I'm going to build an entirely new world." Creepy. Almost as creepy as the way too many piercings in his face, and the fact that he's got no fucking heat signature. "And for that, I need you, both of you…" He opens his eyes, revealing dark lavender irises, ringed so much that they almost make me dizzy. _Who…?_ "Really…I need the Tailed Beasts inside of you."

The Sage… Suzaku's power starts kicking up a storm inside of me, pumping blood like lava through my veins. _Those are the eyes of my father._

 _Hold up, your father!?_ Okay, maybe it's stupid, but I had no idea that a Tailed Beast had parents. _Wait, but hold up, I thought you were made of chakra!_

 _I did not mean a father as in the same as your own. I meant…_ He pauses, as though unsure of what to say. _It matters not right now. This is not the man I knew. He means to do you harm, and that cannot be allowed._

 _Right._ There will be time for me to interrogate Suzaku about this later. For now, we have six deathly cold Akatsuki members to take out. Which is still freaking me the hell out, by the way.

Utakata takes a single step forward, as though to shield me. Me. "So, that's it, then."

"It is futile, Six-Tails. You cannot protect the Ten-Tails." The man raises a hand, pointing at us with a single finger. "Now, the both of you are mine."

A faint whistle piercing the air tips me off, so I grab Utakata's hand and tug him after me. "Run!" I hate showing my back to the enemy, but whatever that whistling is, it's not good. Proven, when there's a huge explosion that just barely misses us.

"So that's the Akatsuki, then?" Utakata's hand slips from my grip as he launches us up into the trees and far away from Hotaru's direction. It makes it easier to run away, but it does nothing to soothe my anxiety.

I look over my shoulder, leaping up onto a higher branch as the one below me explodes under the impact of a… _Is that a MISSILE!?_ Okay, clearly these guys aren't playing around. "Black cloaks with red clouds? Yeah, that's them. I haven't seen these members before, though, and never this many at once." The most I've seen is them working in pairs, which fits the profile that Tsunade has of them. And the fact that they don't give off any heat…well that's just creepy on all sorts of levels. "But the important thing right now is that we get AWAY from here!" Because if we can't…we'll both die. Very…very slowly.

"Look out!" A giant tail of red chakra slams into me, shooting me off to the side and through the trees just as a couple more missiles shoot past us.

"Utakata!" A huge cloud of smoke separates us as I land on a nearby branch just out of range of the explosion. "UTAKATA!" _No way, they couldn't have…_

A hacking cough draws my attention to the forest floor, where Utakata lies bleeding under the cover of the thinning smoke. "R-run! H-hurry!"

"No!" But as soon as I reach for him, flashes of darkness enter my field of vision. I duck down and jump back, dodging four…spears? Javelins? I'm not entirely sure what they are, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to get hit by- "Ah!"

Pain blossoms in my abdomen as two of the rods pierce through my body, slamming into the soft flesh just above my kidneys. They're decidedly non-fatal shots, but enough to slam me back into a tree and hold me fast there. But that's far from the worst of it… It feels as though my very soul is being pinned in place by this strange weapon. _Shit! You have to move! Move! Move! MOVE!_

I reach a hand down to the pitch black rods, wincing as they spark with energy, burning me as I try to touch them. _What the hell!?_ I level my gaze at the six shadows flitting through the trees and grit my teeth as I clasp my hand around one rod, ignoring the pain as I wrench the first out of my body and break it in half over my knee. _Okay, focus on getting free and you can ignore the pain._ I reach for the second one, ripping it out of my flesh and letting the blood flow down my sides as I swing it through the air, slicing through the robes of the first cloaked figure to rush at me.

Long orange hair sweeps past me, carrying with it the sound of ripping clothing as I bounce across the branch and into another tree. Since Utakata's on the ground, I have no trouble doing something more than a little reckless. "DIE!" I take a deep breath and blow out a blast of fire large enough to light up the entire sky. Or at least what I can see of the sky through the canopy.

Not wasting a second, I reach for two shuriken in my pack, spinning them around my fingers as I weave wind chakra around them, turning them into spinning saw blades. _Alright, come out…come out…wherever you are…_ The shuriken hover above my palms, held there solely through chakra.

 _…There!_ I release the shuriken through the trees, listening as they slice through the trunks and arc towards the chakra signatures I can just vaguely sense racing around. There's something weird about it. They're all so…similar, barely distinguishable at all. If I didn't see the six of them, I would almost think that all of the chakra was coming from a single source, a single person. _And then there's the fact that they have no heat signatures. And those rods…_ I pick up the second rod, gripping it in my palms before cracking it over my knee and tossing the shards aside.

 _Chick! Take my power and use it! I can give you eight of my tails, but it will not be a pleasant experience._

 _Then let's leave the coddling for later, shall we?_ Right now, I don't care if it's going to hurt, I just need the power to get myself and Utakata out of this, because it looks like taking a direct hit from one of those missiles really did some damage. _Give it to me NOW!_

 _YES!_ I can feel it as he opens the floodgates to his power, restricting it as necessary so as not to overwhelm my body. After all, we've seen firsthand what happens to Naruto when the Fox overwhelms him, and I can't begrudge Suzaku wanting to prevent me from suffering the same sort of fate, despite our friendship.

I pull my ribbon from my hair and rake my fingers through it, a strong gust separating the locks from each other and making room for the feathers that jut out from my head. The familiar feeling of wings on my back comforts me, but pain shoots through me as eight of ten tails emerge from my back, unrolling like a pack of soft, downy carpets. If only that's what my body felt like on the inside.

What's left of my flames disappear as a larger Akatsuki bears down on me from above. But they don't just disappear, it almost looks like he's…absorbing them? And as he glares down at me, I note the exact same eyes as the first one. Lavender, ringed, and unnervingly observant. And his are not the only eyes on me, I can feel the weight of more pairs of eyes, more calculating gazes. And all of them are centered on me.

"Now, you will know pain." The voice of the first one echoes from behind me, prompting me to turn as my feet are lifted off the branch. "And you will be sacrificed for the greater good. For the power of a god." And as though by a magnetic force, my body is tugged through the air, gaining speed as I fly towards the epicenter.

 _Damn it!_ I reach out my tails, piercing the trees with them in eight different directions, wrapping the feathers around them and anchoring myself against the impressive pull of his ninjutsu. My hands move before me as I smile grimly. _If he's going to try and pull me in, then I'm going to give him something to pull!_ "Waning Crescent Dance!" Blades shoot from my fingertips, growing larger and faster as they shoot towards the man in the epicenter.

Everything goes to hell at once. The force in the center stops abruptly, offsetting my balance and shooting me backwards to be cushioned only by my feathers stuck into the trees. And one of the other Akatsuki races in front of the one who seems to be the leader. In an instant, all of my wind blades disappear, absorbed into the larger one's hands. _How…?_

I pull myself back, whipping myself through the trees by using my tailfeathers as a giant slingshot. I need to grab Utakata and get out of here, quickly. One or two Akatsuki would be fine, but sic of them? For that, I need some serious backup. And of all the times to not have Naruto here watching my back. This was supposed to be a simple meeting with some ANBU. _Damn the Akatsuki for crashing this party!_

 _Chick! Below you!_ Suzaku takes hold of my senses, overriding my own control and moving my limbs for me, slamming my feet into the closest tree and swinging around it with one feather, catapulting me higher into the air as one of the orange-haired Akatsuki come at me from below, riding on the head of a summoning animal. She looks small, smaller than the others. Maybe even smaller than I am. _A female with those same eyes…? And the summon is hers, I guess._

Her hands flash before my eyes, and two more summoning diagrams stretch themselves across the nearest trees, expelling a huge chameleon and dog from them to accompany the bull whose head she's riding on. _Okay, a Summoning expert, got it._ Definitely not a good opponent for me to fight since Naruto is the one who specializes in summoning. That said, if I'm going to use ninjutsu on them, I'm going to have to act faster than that other one can absorb them. "Here goes nothing…" Utakata specializes in water, so he'll be fine. "Water Style: Whitewater Flood!" A raging torrent of twisting and churning water explodes from my mouth and slams into the ground. _Come on Utakata…get up!_

My prayers are answered when bubbles stream down from above in every direction. He's safe, at least for now. _Alright then, eat this!_ My fingertips crackle with lightning, just like Akito and Kakashi have both shown me. I'm still getting a handle on it, but right now, having a handle on it is the last thing I need. I electrify the torrent of water, channeling it through the rapids and right into every Akatsuki it touches. That one might be able to absorb chakra or ninjutsu or whatever, but I dare him to try and absorb THIS much!

 _Chick, the ninjutsu is not as effective as it should be. And because of those strange rods, taijutsu is too dangerous to engage in with these opponents. Warn your partner and prepare a genjutsu while he distracts them._

I bite my lip after cutting off the flow of water. _Are you sure? I could end up getting him killed if I use him as a distraction._ And that's the last thing I want to have happen here.

 _Yes, but be careful, your timing will need to be perfect if you're to ensnare all six of them._ He's got a point there. This is really going to come down to the wire.

Leaping up to Utakata to hover in the air beside his bubble, I silently motion for him to cover his ears. Thankfully, he doesn't question it, obeying immediately as he claps his hands over his ears. And that…is when I begin to sing, projecting my voice as far as it will go. _Freeze them in place, disorient them, and then cause them to faint._

I can't keep track of all six of them at once, at least, not at first. But one by one, they fall victim to my voice, my song. And only when my song is done, and the six of them are on their knees, dazed and oblivious, does a terrible weight come crashing down onto my back, ripping through my skin, crushing the bones of my wings, which try in vain to protect me even as their power is sucked away. Its power sends me hurtling down towards the ground.

"CIARA!" A strangled scream is the last I hear as I smash headfirst into the mercifully softened ground.


	33. Spirited Away

**And now we see a special reappearance, I've been waiting for so long to finally get to this part, and now you'll be coming along with me on a series of chapters where I'll mostly be flying by the seat of my pants. Or…pajamas, as it were. Anyway, settle in for this ride, because it's going to be…different. Also, this is going to be mostly an original Team Seven chapter, with an appetizer of Itachi, and a side-dish of Tsunade and…dot dot dot (:D). Starting and ending with our beloved absentee Uchiha.**

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

I toss my burden to the floor of this remote hideout concealed near the border of the Land of Lightning. "As promised, I've delivered the Eight-Tails to you." My body feels as though it's been crushed under a mountain, though I suppose that I shouldn't be nearly so surprised. Fighting jinchuuriki seems to be more difficult than I imagined.

Much more difficult than fighting Naruto so long ago.

Madara glances down at my prize, his expression impossible to determine behind that mask. "Excellent work, I knew you could do it." But as I turn to leave with Jugo, whose work involves carting around our injured teammates, Madara stops me. "Where are you going?"

I would have thought it was obvious, considering the state my team is in. "First, to tend to my wounds." Which I'm sure will take several days, if not a couple of weeks to heal. Suigetsu might be laid up the better part of a month, and Jugo will need time to restore his body after healing me. Karin…she should be fine after a few nights of rest. After that comes our true mission. "Then, to the Hidden Leaf."

"Is that so?" He sounds almost…amused by my answer. "Then you should go and rest. Taking on the Leaf will not be so easy as a task as you might think. After all, if one of their shinobi requires that Pain use all of his incarnations, as well as Kisame to subdue, just imagine what taking on the rest of the village will be like."

Now that is mildly interesting. "And just who would merit that kind of fanfare?" _The Hokage, maybe? Or that old man who trained with Naruto and was one teamed with Orochimaru? Jiraiya…right?_

"One of their jinchuuriki. With your arrival, we now have three of them in the complex. We start the extraction of the Six-Tails this afternoon, and it will take the better part of seven days to seal the beast away. Then, we will move on to the Eight-Tails, before moving on to the Ten-Tails." Perhaps it's my imagination, but he seems to be missing a step in there. The Nine-Tails. Naruto.

On the other hand, the fact that he claims to have one of the Leaf's jinchuuriki could only mean… "I held up my end of the bargain. Just make sure that you deliver on yours." _It couldn't be…besides, she's not the first ninja to sprout wings and fly._ There's no reason to think that it could be her. At least…not without confirming it with my own eyes.

But I have time, and confirming that fact can wait. First, my team needs medical attention and rest. And if it is her…then I have a lot of questions for her. If it's not…then I'll track her down and find out just what she does know before I move on to the Leaf.

Because she knows things about Itachi that I never suspected, and I want answers. So I will make her talk, one way or another.

* * *

 _"But Big Brother…why do you always say that you have missions on Thursdays…?" I don't get why Itachi is always like this. I've never heard of a mission that takes place just one day of every week. And why is it always Thursdays that he runs off if he's not on a mission?_

 _He smiles and pokes my forehead like he usually does. "Sorry, Sasuke…I have to go and meet Shisui now."_

 _"I know that…but why!?" I get that missions are important, but couldn't Itachi just stay and help me train for once? I know that I'm just starting at the academy, but I want him to finally teach me some of those shuriken techniques he promised to teach me. "What's this important mission about!?"_

 _He laughs at me and smiles softly. "Well you see…the two of us are guarding a princess today. She's very little and very precious, so she needs someone to look after her. In fact, she's almost a year younger than you are."_

 _"A princess? Like…the feudal lord's daughter?" I've never seen a princess before. I wonder if she's pretty like a princess is supposed to be._

 _"Well, not quite." Itachi ruffles my hair as he gets to his feet and straps on his pack. "She's a clan lord's daughter, so she's a clan princess. Like your classmate, Hinata."_

 _"Oh, I see." So she's that kind of princess. I wonder why they call her a princess, then. "What clan is she from? Does she live here in the village?" That would explain why he's always back at the end of the day on his Thursday missions._

 _"Well, she lives very close to the village, and she's part of a very special clan that's very secretive about what goes on within their estate. They're very friendly and kind people both inside and outside of their clan holdings, but you have to be given permission to visit their home, so I'm not allowed to tell you about them just yet." Aw…darn it. "But maybe someday I'll introduce the two of you. I hope that the two of you will get along well, because she's someone that I care a great deal for."_

 _I glare at him, because an Uchiha doesn't pout like a little kid. "It sounds like you care about her more than me, Itachi."_

 _He laughs again and shakes his head. "That's not it at all, Sasuke. Don't worry, there is no one in the world who can replace you. Just like there is no one in the world who can replace her. The both of you are very special, and I hope that the both of you grow up to be strong and intelligent and kind, and considerate of those around you."_

 _"Yes Itachi…" It's the same old lecture. "I know. Study hard, train hard, and obey the rules. That's what every ninja has to remember, right?"_

 _"That's right, Sasuke." Itachi walks to the door, looking back at me over his shoulder with a twinkle in his eye. "But always remember to protect the ones that you hold most dear, whatever the cost may be. That's a lesson I learned from Lord Ryouta himself."_

 _"Lord Ryouta…?" It sounds so…friendly. Is Itachi really on a first-name basis with a clan lord?_

 _"Yes. Now, I have a little princess to visit, and she's quite fond of her sweets. So have a good day at school, Sasuke, and maybe I'll bring you back some dango if she doesn't eat it all. She's such a Little Dragon." Yuck, Itachi's forgotten that I don't like sweets, again. All of the girls at school shove them at me and expect me to eat them. They gave me a stomach ache last time. Wait, dragon? Aren't you supposed to protect princesses from dragons? That's what stories say, anyway…_

 _I scrunch up my nose at the thought of eating a girl's sweets again. "But Itachi…you know I don't like those sweet dumplings."_

 _He laughs at me again, and this time, it's definitely AT me. "Oh Sasuke, one day you'll learn to overcome your aversion to sweets. Not every girl your age is going to push them at you. But if you ever find a girl willing to feed you all the tomatoes you can eat, let me know. I'll be sure to help plan your wedding."_

 _My face burns like never before. I may be five, but I don't want a girlfriend. Girls are CRAZY! "ITACHI!"_

* * *

Ever since Itachi's death, I've been remembering a lot of seemingly random pieces of information. Bits of conversations that I haven't had in over ten years. A few things make sense now that I know the truth, but there's still so much that I have next to no context for. Itachi's absences, his secrets, and all of the things that I might have missed because of the years I spent hating him. I was so blind. But I refuse to keep walking around without knowing what the hell is going on.

Which means that there's someone I need to see. And from what Madara said earlier…she might be a lot closer than I thought.

 _Where are you, little Fairy?_

* * *

Naruto's P.O.V.

 _Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! SHIT!_ "What do you mean your tracking seeds don't work on her!?" _There's no way that we could have just lost her so easily. She was supposed to meet up with us hours ago, and she's STILL not here! She supposed to be here!_

"The seed that I slipped into her clothes isn't responding, and the seed that was in her food feels like it's been disintegrated." Captain Yamato grits his teeth, his face tight and angry. "I KNEW that she would be too exposed."

 _Disintegrated…? Did her body think it was a poison or something and purge it from her system? "Well how do we find her!?_ " I've been sending my clones out ever since dinner, but not one of them has come back with news. It's like she vanished into thin air. I've still got a few out there looking, but so far…nothing.

"It's dangerous for her to be out there alone against a squad of ANBU." Sometimes, I really hate it when Sai points out the obvious, or at least what he THINKS is obvious. Especially when I KNOW that she can handle a few ANBU easily. I mean, that's got to be a given if she's going to be one of my ANBU when I'm Hokage.

So I spin around and pin Sai there with a glare. "She can handle a bunch of ANBU, so that's not the issue. Something must have happened to her, something way beyond a bunch of random ANBU from the Mist Village. She gave ZABUZA a hard time when we were fresh out of the Academy. And there's no way that these guys are stronger than HIM." There's no way…there's no way that she would be taken out by a group that size.

One of my clones pops back and all of its memories flood into my brain. And that's why my blood runs cold. "Shit…" Then I take off in the direction of Mount Katsuragi, which is a lot closer than it was a few hours ago. "I found her!" Or I think I have, at least. My clone found some of her feathers. That means that there was a battle, and my clone probably missed seeing her on the way there. "Let's go!"

There's no way I'm going to just sit by while she disappears. Not like how Gaara did back then…

 _Damn it, Ciara! Where the hell ARE you!?_

* * *

Sakura's P.O.V.

This place…this is where Naruto said his clone disappeared and relayed the information back to him, but…there's nothing here.

Well, I suppose that's not entirely true. There's plenty of evidence of a massive battle here. The trees were burnt down at some point, and a lot of them have toppled over. It looks like gravity did it, but…I'm not so sure about that. And to prove that Ciara was here, there are red feathers littering the ground, just like the ones I've seen in her wings.

She fought with someone. But now…she's not here anymore. And either she left under her own power and hid herself away somewhere while she heals, or…someone took her.

"DAMN IT!" Naruto kicks over one of the barely standing trees, a clump of feather clutched in his fist. "Where the hell is she!?"

Sai sits against a fallen tree, drawing ink snakes and birds and mice to send out in search of more clues. As for me…all I can really do is stare at the desperate, angry, and hopelessly anguished look on Naruto's face. If she was here, injured…I could take care of that in a snap. But I'm no tracker. _Maybe we should have had Hinata and Kiba come along after all…_

Still, I do my part and look around at the evidence that I can see. The burnt trees is obvious enough. Ciara is really good at blowing fire, I've seen her make massive firestorms more than once, usually to deal with more than one opponent, or in an enclosed space in order to cover the entire battlefield and prevent escape. This battlefield has proof of her power all over it. And then there's the feathers…

I pick up a few of the feathers and turn them over. They're badly shredded, and they look like they were ripped out of her wings. They definitely didn't fall out naturally. I've seen what it looks like when they fall out naturally and when they're plucked out. But this…something big and with multiple sharp points must have come down on top of her and ripped some of the feathers out and torn them apart. "What happened here…?" Considering how strong she is, there's no way that a few ANBU should have been able to take both her and that Utakata out.

"From the looks of it, the two of them got caught up in a battle after the ANBU Black Ops were killed." I turn my head to see a mouse sitting on Sai's lap. "I've found the bodies of the shinobi from the Hidden Mist. All five are present and accounted for, but neither Utakata or Ciara are in the area."

"I see." _Naruto is going to be devastated, I just know it. And…_ I hold my hand to my chest. It pounds with a dull ache. Oh Ciara… If the Akatsuki get hold of her…we might never see her again.

How many people do we have to lose before it ends?

Will it ever end?

* * *

Tsunade's P.O.V.

"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune nearly breaks down my door this time as she barges in with a scroll in her hands. And knowing who I've got out on assignment…this is probably bad news. Again.

I hold out my hand for the scroll, fixing her with an annoyed glare. "What is it this time, Shizune?" As if I didn't already have enough to worry about with Jiraiya off in the Hidden Rain and still unresponsive. It shouldn't be taking him this long to get back to me with a preliminary report. _Those toads of his are fast, so why…?_

Shizune's face falls as she places the scroll in my hand. "It's…a report from Captain Yamato and Team Kakashi. There's been a…complication."

"A complication?" Of course there has. That team never can seem to stay out of trouble. "Their mission is over, isn't it?" We received the confirmation of that only this morning. "What sort of complication could they possibly…" My eyes skim over the paper, a ball of dread knotting itself in the pit of my stomach. "No…" It can't be…they couldn't have…

"Lady Tsunade…Ciara Shiryugu is missing in action, and presumed to have been captured in an unforeseen battle with unknown assailants." _Yes, Shizune, I can clearly read that off this paper!_

I slam my fist down into my desk, cracking it. Again. "Unknown assailants, my ass…I've got a pretty good idea about who would be able to force her into battle and take her captive. And don't tell me that you don't know too."

Shizune drops her gaze to the floor. "Yes, Milady. It is likely that the Akatsuki caught up with her and waited until she and Naruto were separated. It seems that she was accompanying a rogue ninja from the Hidden Mist into negotiations with a squad of ANBU from the Mist. But the bodies of the ANBU were found long dead, and she and the Mist ninja were nowhere to be seen. Captain Yamato's notes indicate that she and the rogue ninja had hit it off well, and the two were developing a friendship. Naruto also seemed quite taken with the ninja…"

So to boil all of that down, we're dealing with an abduction of at least one, if not possibly two ninja. And if those two were making such fast friends with a ninja from a foreign land…my first instinct, as irrational and unlikely as it might be, is to assume that this rogue ninja was like them…which would be the only reason why the rogue's body wasn't present at the scene either. Of course, if this isn't the Akatsuki, then the two of them might have been taken for other reasons. But honestly, I doubt that anyone short of the Akatsuki or a leader of one of the Five Great Nations could pose a serious threat to her in battle.

Which leaves the Akatsuki… _Damn it!_

Still, this is no time to be sitting around and stalling. "Shizune! Get me Team Kurenai, Team Asuma, and Team Gai! Have them report here at once, and send orders to assemble thirty jounin teams and ten ANBU Black Ops squads. They're to be under the orders of Hajime Sarutobi. And I want you to bring me EVERYTHING that we have documented about the Akatsuki and their hideouts, and about the Shiryugu Clan!" If we're going down this road, I'm going to leave no stone unturned, even after she's returned to the village. If…she's returned to the village. "I want the Torture and Interrogation Corps working on making grid patterns for a systematic search for the jounin platoon, and any information relayed to the specialist teams that will be the most likely to find her."

"Right away!" Shizune turns on heel and nearly sprints out of my office to deliver my orders. And a good thing, too, because I don't think I'll ever be able to face Jiraiya if he finds out that one of his students was captured on a mission that I assigned.

I do NOT want to have that conversation…

"Princess Tsunade…" And there's another conversation that I don't want to have. The man pops up at arguably the most inconvenient times. Well, inconvenient for me, but if he can use it to get an edge over me, that old fart won't hesitate to use it. "I was told that one of our shinobi has been captured while on a mission."

"And you care about this because…?" I wouldn't put it past Danzo to be here just for the sake of heckling me. He will grasp at anything he can use to undermine me. Anything at all. "I wouldn't think that the fate of a single ninja would interest you. After all, isn't it a ninja's duty to sacrifice their life for their village?"

His cane taps the ground as he approaches my desk, and every step raises my hackles all the more. "That is indeed true. However, circumstances are different when one of the village's greatest weapons goes missing."

And here we go, the one part I hate about being in this village. That old, militaristic way of thinking…the one that labeled Naruto as a dangerous weapon for so long, instead of the bright and willful person that he is. "And just what is it that you think you've heard? Messages are quite often lost in translation from one source to another."

That one wizened eye narrows at me. "Do not play coy, Princess Tsunade. I am fully aware that the other jinchuuriki has been taken by the Akatsuki." He shakes his head disparagingly. "You have become complacent, Tsunade. To allow such a powerful weapon to leave the village was reckless and foolhardy. And now, because of your actions, the dragon is in enemy hands."

As if I didn't… Ugh. "And your point? I fail to see how stating that point of view helps to retrieve HER at all!" I hate it…the way that this man is so callous and cold, and completely disregards the fact that shinobi are human, they have identities and emotions. But no…he refers to her just as a thing, something lower than human, to be used and abused as he sees fit.

Well, a newsflash to him, she's something far beyond what it means to be human. Based on what Kakashi said in his own report, I'm more convinced of that than ever. She's displaying more of the abilities ascribed to her clan's bloodline.

She is more than human, and Danzo refuses to acknowledge that. "My point, Princess Tsunade, is that Naruto Uzumaki must be returned to the village immediately and put under guard. We cannot allow for our second jinchuuriki to be taken by the Akatsuki."

And there he goes again, making my temper boil and rage. "Naruto Uzumaki is on HIS way back as we speak. Whether he stays in the village or not will be determined at a later date." Because honestly, I would rather not keep him here, not with snakes like Danzo slithering around. "Is that all?"

He doesn't crack, not even a little. "I believe that it is…" He turns towards the door, making for it at an agonizing slow pace that makes me want to just hurl him out my window instead. "Though perhaps…this all may be for the best. After all…to be the last of its species…what use is there for a crippled remnant of the Olde Days? It would have been happier if it had died with the others of its kind."

And with that ill omen, he leaves me. He leaves me to drive my fist right through the desk and shatter it. "That bastard…"

One of these days, I hope to the gods of old that someone kills him.

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

"Karin, how is he?" I would check Suigetsu's energy for myself, but my eyes are throbbing, and the last thing I need is to overwork them and start them off bleeding again. Still, I need to make sure my team recovers completely before we head out again.

"It's not good." She frowns as she moves her hands over his half-liquified body. "He's completely out of it. It'll take at least a couple more days before he reforms, and after that…it'll take a while before he's even half useful again. He's not going to be fighting anytime soon."

"I see." Their arguing and insults are irritating, but as long as they can get the job done, that's all that matters. "And Jugo?"

"He's still in child form for now." Karin crosses her arms, clearly frustrated. "We underestimated the Eight-Tails. That guy…" She shakes her head and pushes up her glasses. "His power was out of this world. It's like nothing I've ever seen before. It was…massive."

"I know." I've felt that kind of power before. And more than once, from more than one person. "Have you explored this place yet?"

"Not really, I've been busy watching these two." Her gaze trails towards the bed where Jugo lies sleeping. "They're going to need a while to recover from fighting the Eight-Tails."

That's about what I expected. And I doubt that I'll be fit to see battle again in the immediate future. This just reinforces my decision to have us lay low here for a while before heading out on the next step of the mission, going to the Leaf and executing the elders who gave Itachi that order.

And then…there's other things that Madara told me that I want to confirm with her as well. Like the fate of her clan. Madara was very quick to lay all of the blame at Danzo's feet. So I want to be sure that I'm not going to miss killing the right person.

Because if Madara is telling me the truth, Danzo's days are numbered. I saw the look in her eyes that day. She was trying in vain to save Itachi. So it's only right that she know that the one who destroyed her life is going to die.

And I'm going to make sure that the murderer dies screaming.


	34. Battered, Bruised, and Sealed Away

**So…for anyone who hasn't already figured it out, Danzo is screwed. Like…monumentally screwed. By a twenty foot pole. Right up the backside. And I am NOT sorry about that. That dick deserves to die, dammit.**

 **Anyway, on to more pleasant things…or not, actually, this chapter is going to be extremely unpleasant. Maybe trigger warnings for…(does it count as torture if there's no active torturing going on? Does ripping a soul apart on the molecular level count as torture? Personally, I'd say yes, but…) bad things. Trigger warning for bad things happening. But this is Naruto, between all of the murder, torture, genocide, and general war crimes and crimes against humanity, we're used to that.**

 **Also, a warning for an impatient, sarcastic, and demanding Sasuke (with some slight touches of sympathy, colored by resentment). But you all already knew that. This chapter entirely from his P.O.V. We'll get to Naruto next chapter.**

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

He finally wakes up in that damn tank after four days…and the first thing he does is start complaining. It's at times like this when I think about reconsidering my decision to recruit Suigetsu. Then he proves his worth in battle and reminds me why I decided on him in the first place.

"You are so useless!" And he's at it with Karin. Again. "Why did you leave behind my Executioner's Blade!?"

"Shut up, Suigetsu!" It takes almost nothing to set her off. "You should just be grateful that we didn't leave you behind too!"

"How dare you!? You were knocked out just as much as I was, Karin!" He's got a point, even though the two of them should just knock it off and not waste their energy on fighting each other.

She screeches again, and makes me want to tell them to just get a room already. Maybe then I wouldn't have to worry about her shrieks bursting my eardrums. "Hey! I ended up that way trying to protect all of you!"

"All of us were protecting each other, you guys. We're like fish in water, we can't do without one another. So stop your quarreling." Finally, the voice of reason, not that either of them are all that inclined to listen to listen to Jugo anyway.

Still, it works to calm Suigetsu, at the very least. "Anyway, are we really going to get the Tailed Beasts' power now, Sasuke?"

"Hn. Who knows?" Though I can think of one way we might we able to. "Maybe. But there's no reason for us to depend on the Akatsuki handing such things to us." Not when my eyes have grown this strong. And then…there's what I suspect is locked away deep in the hideout. _If I can open up that place…_

But as I reach for a glass of water, my vision blurs, and the sound of a clinking glass sounds loud in my ears as it tips over. I misjudged the distance? I raise a hand to my eyes, a slight panic brewing as my vision wobbles. Damn it…

"Something wrong, Sasuke?" As usual, Karin is quick on the uptake, too quick.

"No, it's nothing." There's no reason for them to know. It will pass. And if it doesn't, I know exactly who can fix it. "Karin, Jugo, get Suigetsu out of the tank and ready. I'll meet you all at the south end of the hideout in a little while. There's something I want to check out."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Sasuke?" Suigetsu frowns, warier than he usually is. "These Akatsuki really don't like it when we poke our noses into their stuff."

"It'll be fine." Madara doesn't know me as well as he thinks he does, especially if he thinks he can leash me with the promise of Tailed Beasts and the threat of retribution if I betray him. No matter what, he won't get in my way. I won't allow it.

For now, though…I think I'll find out just what's kept him so occupied for the last few days.

* * *

 _The concentration of chakra is highest right here, in this room._ I stare at the door, frowning as I try to discern the presence of any traps or other dangers before walking in. I don't see a thing. Arrogant bastard.

But when I push the door open, unearthly screams assault my ears, and an eerie glow fills the darkness. The room, ringed by torches, contains a huge statue with more eyes than I care for, and two hands on which five figures stand. _So…this is where they've been…_ I had wondered why those Akatsuki weren't walking around the hideout. _They've all been hiding in here._

My gaze drops to where a form hangs in the air, surrounded by a massive amount of chakra, with red chakra bubbling out of his mouth. It's a stark contrast to the light blue of his kimono. It's also…familiar, like I've felt it before.

 _…Naruto…I've felt a similar power in Naruto._

But those screams…I turn my Sharingan on the sight and watch, transfixed, as the demon's chakra is ripped out of the human body holding it. I feel like I'm watching his body go into full organ failure in slow motion. His body seems incapable of offsetting the damage of the chakra drain all by itself, and his own pale blue chakra is disappearing from the vital organs.

And then there's those screams. I've never once heard a human make sounds like that. Ever. _Is this what a Tailed Beast extraction entails?_

After what seems like an eternity, the last of the bubbling red chakra disappears into the mouth of the giant statue, and the last of the man's own chakra disappears from his body as it falls to the ground, still and lifeless. He's dead.

One of the figures atop the fingers turns towards me, disappearing from his place and reappearing in front of me. "Sasuke, have your wounds healed?" Madara sure does like to make conversation.

I nod slowly. "My team is healing well." And that's all he needs to know. "I take it that this is what's done with jinchuuriki?"

"Are you having second thoughts, Sasuke?" If that mask wasn't in the way, I'm sure that I would have seen an eyebrow rise.

"Hn." I'm insulted. "I've held up my end of the deal. Second thoughts would be pointless." The only thoughts I have now involve avenging Itachi's death. And all aspects of what entails.

Including interrogating the prisoner in the cell in the southern end of the hideout, if it turns out to be who I think it is.

* * *

Suigetsu fidgets even more than usual as I approach the three of them. "Alright, so what's up with the secrecy, Sasuke? Why did you want us to meet you here? It's just an old moldy hallway."

"Hn." The fool. Can't he tell that this place has been used recently? There's dust in the corners of the hallway, but the center is clean, like a clock has swept through and dragged away the dust. "Follow me." I have a feeling that I'll know the place they're keeping the third jinchuuriki when I see it.

I step quietly through the hall, measuring every step as I observe the walls and doors, looking for even the faintest trace of chakra. There's not much around here, just residual traces from…Zetsu, I think his name was. The black and white venus fly trap knock-off. _He must have brought the jinchuuriki in here…_ He seems to like skulking around, but today, I'm going to make that habit of his work for me. "Karin, can you sense any other chakra down here?"

"Chakra?" She watches me, puzzled by my request. "Uh…sure, just let me check." Her eyes turn away from me, closing as she infuses her own chakra, stretching it out in search of our target.

"Sasuke…what are you expecting to find down here?" Jugo keeps pace with me as we walk, his own gaze flicking about, likely on the lookout for threats. "There's something…strange about this place. Like it's tugging on my chakra?"

"Tugging on your chakra?" Suigetsu frowns. "Hey…you're right. What's up with that?"

"I don't know, but it's coming from that room over there." Karin opens her eyes and points to a section of wall further down the dimly lit hall. "It's faint, but I can just sense someone or something's chakra in there. But Sasuke…" She moves to clutch my sleeve, her eyes narrowing. "Whatever it is…it's not human."

"Not human, you say?" _Interesting…_ Now I know that I have to take a look. "Alright then, let's go."

"Are you sure about this?" Suigetsu grins nervously as we approach the door. There's seals all around it, all over it, probably even in the door itself. "Because it looks to me like someone really doesn't want whatever is in there to get out."

"I'm sure." I put my hand to the door, noting the character for the number ten inscribed on it. _The Ten-Tails…it has to be._ Now, it's time to prove or disprove my theory. "Let's see what Madara is hiding in here." The seal keeping the door shut breaks under my fingers with just a short, concentrated burst of chakra.

"Should we really be going in here? It's probably been sealed for a reason." Jugo worries too much. After all, the four of us brought down one of the jinchuuriki. Even if there's another one sealed up in here, they don't stand a chance against us. Against me.

Especially not if it's who I think it is.

The door swings open with a gentle push, revealing a huge, mangled form in the darkness. Karin puts a hand on my arm and holds me back a moment. I allow it as she passes me a lit lamp. "Here, now we'll be able to see whatever this…thing is." The thing in question moves slightly. It can hear us. And as I raise the lamp, I correct that thought. SHE can hear us.

I raise the lamp above my head, letting the light bounce off the walls and onto the form sitting in the middle of the room.

Wings. Giant, misshapen wings that drape across the floor, gathered in clumpy piles. They look broken, which would explain the strange shape I saw in the darkness. And in the middle of the pair of vivid, fiery-colored wings, sits a girl with long brown hair hanging limply to her waist. The tan of her skin is dappled by the shadows and lamplight flickering across her skin. But there's something very wrong with this picture.

"The hell? What's this thing? Some kind of demon?" Suigetsu raises a hand defensively, hanging back near the door as I step further inside. "What the fuck's going on? You never said we were going looking for jinchuuriki in here! What do you want with this thing?"

She draws back, jangling the chains that hold her arms out to the sides and far away from each other. But she doesn't get far, what with her feet shackled to the floor. She's afraid of us.

Jugo frowns at the sight of her. "Why do you think she has those masks on?"

My guess would be to stop her from using ninjutsu. But those masks are going to have to go. I have questions, and I want her to answer them. "Fairy." She stops moving, tilting her head slightly, her ear twitching for a moment before she stills like a statue. _She recognizes my voice, then…that's not surprising._ "I thought I would find you here."

"Hey Sasuke, I hate to break it to you, but that's not a fairy." _Suigetsu…I didn't mean it literally. Moron._

"Hn." I step forward, setting the lamp down on the floor as I crouch in front of her. She moves slightly, but it's clear that the tension in her muscles has relaxed, for the most part. _Ciara…it looks like this time, I found you, not the other way around._ Because, last I checked, that's what she and that other moron were intending to do.

She lowers her head slightly, tilting it further as her ears twitch again. She blows a slow breath through her nose, proving, in my mind, that she's quite aware of us. So I slowly reach towards her, running a hand through her hair and lifting it away to access the mask's fastening at the back of her head. It comes undone easily, slipping away from her face to reveal soft red lips. Ones that I remember well, from her obnoxious habit of kissing my forehead.

Lips that form a single word. "Sasuke…" Her voice is richer, less child-like than I remember. I couldn't hear much of anything when she was screaming over Itachi's body, nothing coherent, anyway. And there's a lot about her that's not so child-like anymore. She must be almost a foot taller than I remember…

"Sasuke, what is this thing?" Suigetsu's voice brings me back to the present and away from unwanted memories of that place.

"This is the Ten-Tails jinchuuriki." And now, I know exactly who she is. "Ciara Shiryugu, a chunin and medic from the Leaf Village." I slip off the mask covering her eyes, brushing her hair away from her face and down her back to reveal those sunburst eyes that I saw on several occasions.

Her eyes stare into mine, like she's trying to peer right into my soul. "…Genjutsu."

I frown, not entirely sure what she means. "There's no genjutsu." I would know, I checked.

She shakes her head slightly, the light in her eyes dimming. "You asked why they covered up my mouth and eyes." The eyes are self-explanatory, but the mouth… "They don't want me singing any more genjutsu."

Well, that's certainly a new trick. "And when did you learn to use genjutsu?" The last time I checked, she could only see through genjustu and break it, not use it herself. But Kabuto did say that it showed that she had an aptitude for it.

"When I was traveling with Jiraiya." _And she's not adverse to answering my questions, good…_ "A couple of his toads taught me." Her eyes search my face, an emotion glimmering in their depths that I haven't seen in a long time. Sadness. "Sasuke…what are you doing here?"

I narrow my eyes at her. "I'm asking the questions here."

"…I see." There's a spark of realization in her eyes now, overwhelming and pushing away the sadness. "Then ask me whatever it is that you want to know, and I will do my best to give you whatever answers you're looking for." She manages a smile. It's faint, but it's there. "So ask, Sasuke."

"Hey! Don't get so friendly with him!" Karin pushes her glasses up her nose. It's almost amusing to see her acting so haughty, especially since, if she were free, Ciara could easily put her in the ground. Not that she would, if she's anything like I remember. "Besides, Sasuke is here to interrogate you, not be your friend. So shut up and do what you're told, freak!"

The sadness returns to her eyes, so I glare over my shoulder at Karin. "Enough, you're making this more difficult. Stay back and keep quiet, Karin." The last thing I need is her clamming up the way she did back then in that first preliminary round of the exams.

"Sasuke…it's okay." _What?_ I frown at her as she shows me that sad smile. "I know what people think of my kind."

"You mean that you've got a chakra monster shoved in you and could go around annihilating whole mountains with a temper tantrum?" Suigetsu really needs to learn how to shut his mouth. "Because we've already been through that once already. Come on, Sasuke. It's seriously a bad idea to stick around. She could go ballistic and try to kill us like that monster ox!"

"Suigetsu, ENOUGH!" He and Karin are being nuisances, and it's clear that they need more incentive in order to behave. So I radiate Chidori along my arms, shooting them a threatening glare. "Go outside and keep watch."

"But Sasuke, she's-"

"KARIN!" I turn to her, ready to force her to knock it off if I have to.

But a soft voice stops me. "Sasuke…I told you…it's okay." She sounds weary, and her giant broken wings twitch helplessly on the floor. "I know what I am…and I've made my peace with it. But maybe this conversation should be private." Peace, maybe, but she's definitely not happy about it. She's gotten better at telling the truth, but leaving out everything that contradicts it.

"Hn." Still, it's about time someone said something sensible. "Jugo, take them outside to keep watch."

He hesitates for a moment, then nods. "Alright, Sasuke. If anything happens, we'll be back right away."

"Hn." Good. If I'd known they were going to act like this, I wouldn't have brought them down here. It's actually a relief when Jugo drags them out and closes the door most of the way. Now…

Deep emerald eyes stare at me, flecks of gold dancing through them in the lamplight. "…It's good to see you again."

I glare at her flatly. "I suppose it would be, what with the way you've been helping Naruto chase me. Although…you were absent the last time we came face to face."

"I was on a mission in the Sand at the time. Gaara and his advisers requested that I stay on after the emergency mission in order to train their medics." She says it so fondly, and my eyes narrow. _So she and Naruto really did make friends with him…_ I'd suspected, but never bothered to confirm it.

She grows quiet, so I take it as the invitation to ask another question. "You're close to him?"

She nods solemnly, a soft smile returning to her face. "Yes. The two of us are…friends, kin. He is very special to me, just like Naruto." Then her face falls once more. "And when Gaara died, if only temporarily…I screamed, I cried, I felt helpless and angry and sad. Just like…" Her eyes darken, and I know that look. I've seen it in the mirror once or twice.

Still, I can recall one instance in which she cried like that. One that becomes clearer with each passing day. "Just like with Itachi."

She looks up at me, the beginnings of tears forming in her eyes. "…Yes. Like with Itachi."

And now, we come to the things I really wanted to ask. "You tried to save him. Why?"

"Because I loved him." There's not a hint of hesitation in her words. "Because I still do, even now that he's gone. I always have, and I always will, no matter how foolish people might think I am."

Foolish indeed…but she's not the only one. "Do you know why Itachi killed the Uchiha Clan?"

"No." She shakes her head lightly. "I can only assume that he was coerced into it, or that he became a scapegoat for someone else's deed. Because the Itachi I know and love would never do that sort of thing on a whim, or out of cruelty." She laughs softly, even as a tear falls from her eye. "He would never do it at all if he wasn't forced to…"

 _So…she already figured it out, then._ Maybe not the details, but the main idea. And that's more than I can say for myself. That thought leaves a very bitter taste in my mouth. "What if I told you that you were wrong? That Itachi really did slaughter my clan on a whim."

Her gaze hardens slightly. "Then it would be clear to me that I really was the one who knew Itachi best, save maybe for Uncle Shisui." She pauses a moment, her posture softening again. "I'd also accuse you of hitting the sake."

"Hn." Good, then she should be…receptive to this information. Not that I've definitively confirmed it, but once I reach the Leaf, it should be easy enough to force the elders to confess, or to at least confirm the identity of the one of forced Itachi's hand and drove him out of the village to die. "You're right, he didn't do it on a whim. He was ordered to do it."

"He was…ordered to do it?" As she takes in my words, I can see the gears turning in her head. Now I can see why it's said that the eyes are the windows to the soul. Because it feels like I can see hers through those eyes. "…Who?"

"The elders of the Leaf. They conspired against my clan, took advantage of their isolation and desperation, and they forced Itachi to annihilate our clan to prevent the Uchiha from taking over the village." And to that end, they used my brother's loyalty to the village to their own ends.

"They…what?" Now that's the reaction I was looking for, that fusing of disbelief and comprehension. Confirmation that what she thought was the truth is right, but now having names to put with the deed. Then, her gaze darkens. "…That's genocide."

Yes, it is. "And they forced Itachi to be the one to commit it." Good, she understands, at least a little. "It's not the only crime they've committed, but it's the one that matters the most to me. And I'm going to make sure that they pay for it."

She's silent, at least for a few long moments. "…Can you prove it?" It doesn't sound like a denial, more…a challenge. She WANTS me to prove that it's the truth.

"Not yet." But I know that it won't be all that difficult to ascertain. "But I'll be sure to ask Danzo about why he wiped out your family as well while I do."

Now THAT gets her full and undivided attention. "…What do you know about that?"

"Not very much. But more than you do, I'd guess." After all, she was only five years old, there's not much chance that she figured out at that age what could have happened to her family, let alone why.

Hurt flashes through her eyes but she seems to stomp it right back down, keeping her face otherwise calm. Her gaze drops to the floor, and I can just see that her bottom lip is squished between her teeth. She's nervous. "…What…what is it that you think you know about that?"

She's not angry, like I thought she'd be. But there's still time, and soon she'll know the fury that I feel. "I haven't confirmed it for myself yet, but it lines up with what I already knew." Scattered details here and there, but mostly from listening to Kabuto over the years. I think his fascination with her was even worse than Orochimaru's. There's still a lot that isn't clear to me, but after this conversation, I'm sure that it will be.

I refuse to remain blinded by Itachi's lies any longer.

So, let's begin with what I know from Kabuto's research. "It was at the end of August when you were five years old. In the middle of the night, the Shiryugu estate was attacked by a large group of ninja who somehow managed to bring down the detection barrier. This group managed to catch the clan by surprise and wiped out over four hundred men, women, and children before morning." The official details as to the hows and whys were never released, but what Kabuto had managed to pry out of some old medical reports was disturbing. "They were all killed with extreme precision. By elite assassins."

It's a surprise when she nods tiredly. "Yes…I know. One of them found me as well. I'd just woken up and heard Dad roaring. I'd walked past Uncle Eito and Uncle Yukio's bodies…they were protecting Dad but…" She sighs, hanging her head as her eyes close. "One of them found me while I was crying over his body and stabbed me in the abdomen. I was just a kid and I was bleeding out anyway, so he left me for dead. I guess he didn't expect Uncle Kiyoshi to have survived and taken out the last few of his comrades."

"Kiyoshi?" I recognize that name. _Wasn't he…_

"Yeah, he was Shisui's older brother. He was married to my Aunt Miyako." Her voice wobbles a little, and even in the dim light, I can make out the tears dripping from her face. "They were going to be parents…and Uncle Kiyoshi and I were conspiring to get Tatsuo to ask out Shisui. I…used to ask her when she and Shisui were going to have babies. But after that night…"

I don't see any point in going over what could have been. It can't become reality, which means that there's no point in even thinking about it. All that's left now…is to destroy the ones responsible. "You said that you were stabbed and left for dead? How did you survive?"

"…My uncle used rudimentary medical ninjutsu to keep me stable while he used up all of his chakra, making a deal with a demon. Kiyoshi arranged it so that he would keep me alive, since everyone who otherwise could have was dead. If he hadn't asked for the spirit's help, I would have died that night, just like all of the others." She laughs brokenly. "I guess he only really bought me another decade anyway. I've always known that I was living on borrowed time…"

 _Borrowed time…? Does that mean that she always knew it would come to this?_ But that can't be true. Rumors about the Akatsuki have only been flying around for so long, and they haven't been actively gathering jinchuuriki until recently. At least, according to what I've heard from Madara and Zetsu.

"Sasuke…" Her green eyes sparkle with something dark, something hidden away deep inside that I've never seen before. "I don't know what you're doing here…or why…but you have to get away from them as soon as you can. These people are dangerous…they've already killed six of us, and now they have me and Utakata, so they're probably going to-"

"He's dead. It's been about half an hour now." Utakata, huh? I hadn't had a name to put to the face before, but I remember it clearly. "Brown hair, and wearing a blue kimono, right?"

Her eyes widen, and the drying tear tracks dampen again as fresh tears spill from her eyes. "He's…" Her breath stutters, catching in her chest as the chains begin to shake. "No…not again…" Her eyes close up tight but the tears only flow faster. "Utakata…Utakata…I'm sorry…I couldn't…" Her shoulders begin to shake, revealing the quiet sobs, not quite concealed from my eyes. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…"

Clearly, I'm not going to be able to get anything else out of her like this. _Fine, I'll come back to see her in a day or two. But first…_ If anyone comes in and sees that she's not sealed up, they'll know something's up. And judging by how long Madara was at it earlier, they won't be expending that much chakra again in a hurry. There'll probably be a few days, maybe a week until they deal with her. There's time to get more answers out of her.

I runs my fingers through her hair, pulling it back and frowning at the slightly haphazard mess. But the shaking calms slightly, so I pull pieces back and let them slide through my fingers as I hold them up and away from her neck. She doesn't struggle at all as I return the mask to her mouth, fastening it there.

Her eyes don't open in the slightest as I run a thumb over her cheek, wiping away the tears there, then moving to the other. Her eyes open slowly, the little light there before extinguished completely. I don't like it, it's just…wrong. Then they close again, and I fasten the second mask back around her eyes, avoiding each and every feather so that none of them bend or break.

When the door closes behind me, I catch Jugo staring at me. "What is it?"

Karin and Suigetsu sit on the floor behind me, determinedly staring in opposite directions. Jugo sighs and shakes his head at the two of them. "So your conversation went well, then?"

I wouldn't say that it went well, but it was productive, at least. "It was a start." But I'll be sure to get more out of her next time, I just have to be fast.

"Sasuke, I saw…" Jugo frowns, glancing at the door behind me. "Was she really crying?"

"Hn." She has more than her fair share of grief without me publicizing it. Besides, it's clear that I'm not the only one grieving Itachi. And I'll make sure that the rest of the Leaf regrets his death as well. Itachi…

Now I know why the look in her eyes felt so wrong. Because I've seen it once before.

In Itachi's eyes…the night he slaughtered our clan.


	35. An Act of Mercy

**Okay, so that was a lot of angst last chapter. And now…I give you more angst. Silver says that I'm really good at the angst. Or maybe it's that I'm really good at putting in a LOT of angst. Well, something like that :)P**

 **Anyway, now it's time to check back into how things are going with Naruto, because as it's pointed out, having someone so close to him captured and probably about to die is not doing good things to his psyche. Then again, most things in this story don't do good things to his psyche. A psychiatrist would have a field day with him and Sasuke, I'm sure. PTSD, BPD, ADHD, Sociopathy, OCD, MPD, and that's just to start.**

 **Also, Mikan, I'm planning special timing for what you're looking forward to. I may also plan for a special appearance by everyone's favorite pervy ninja. Let me know what you guys think about that, alright?**

 **But, for now, let's zoom in on the Leaf and see how badly things are going.**

* * *

Naruto's P.O.V.

"Granny Tsunade!" I throw open the door to her office, ignoring the chunin guards trying to stop me from getting in there. "When's the next patrol going out!?" I can't just keep destroying training posts and trees anymore. I need to DO something!

She shoots me a withering look and puts the papers in her hands down, lacing her fingers together. "Naruto, I've already told you, there's nothing that you can do right now."

"Bullshit!" There's plenty that I can do, and I'll prove it! "Ciara is out there and needs my help! The Akatsuki are going to kill her if I don't go!" And I can't…I can't let that happen. I can't lose her right now, not like this… The two of us need to stick together so that we can fight the Akatsuki when they come!

"Naruto!" Her hands twitch as she glares at me. "I have teams out scouring the entire nation, and I've sent some ANBU Black Ops to other lands to track down whatever leads they can find. I've also contacted the Kazekage and asked for his help in locating her. His reply came back last night and he's agreed to help us search for her. There are teams from the Sand already being deployed." Her lips twitch into a slight smile. "Apparently she made a very strong impression on their ninjas while she was there. Several members of their medical corps volunteered to help with the search."

"That's not good enough!" The longer we take to find her, the more likely that she won't survive! "Why won't you let me go back out and look for her!?"

"Because you're not a tracker!" She slams a fist down onto her desk, cracking it in half. "Naruto, you may be able to produce hundred of those shadow clones of yours, but she's likely not even in the Land of Fire anymore. I shouldn't deploy you at all, considering that the Akatsuki are after her AND you, but for now, you'll have to wait until one of the teams gets back to us with a location, otherwise I would be sending you on a wild goose chase. That would waste precious time that we don't have. So stay here until we get the information we need. I have reports coming in every hour from all of the teams. When they find her, I'll send Kakashi for you."

"But that's not-" It's not good enough! Why can't she see that!?

"NARUTO!" This time, she shatters her desk completely as she jumps to her feet, sending papers flying everywhere. "Jiraiya is also investigating the Akatsuki! No is not the time to lose faith in the abilities of your comrades!" She seethes a little longer, sitting back down in her chairs, her desk lying in ruins around her. "Conserve your strength. Once we have a location, you're going to need it."

I want to punch her so badly that I can taste it. But I know…this mess isn't Granny's fault…it's mine… I should have been there with her… "I hate this…" I hate not knowing where she is. I hate not being able to really help find her. She could be dead for all I know, and then…what do I do? She's been with me since…forever, now.

 _Dammit! If I can't keep her safe, then how am I supposed to bring Sasuke home?_

* * *

I sigh as I look out at the village from the top of one of the trees around the mansion. I swear that I can see the whole village from here, I can see all the way to the mountains on the other side. _It's beautiful here._ _She should be here to see it, too…_

I hate this. I hate not being able to help her. I hate feeling so useless right now!

"Hey, Naruto!" _That's Sakura's voice._

Glancing down, I notice that Sakura is hanging around near the bottom of the tree. She's glaring at me, again, but this time she's got an… Huh!? Is than an apron!? I mean, I know that sometimes she'll be in the kitchen with Ciara and cook, or just take over the kitchen entirely when the two of us were training back before Asuma-Sensei passed away.

I shake my head, trying to shake the memories OUT of my head. I wish that worked as well as it sounds. "Yeah, Sakura?"

She puts her hands on her hips and taps her foot. "Dinner's ready! So get down and come back inside!"

 _Dinner, huh…? I wonder if Ciara is having dinner right now…? Can she get food where she is?_ I sure hope so, but would whoever took her give her the food she needs? After a battle, she can eat almost as much as I can. We burn through energy fast.

"Naruto!"

"Alright, alright, I'm coming!" I sigh and stand up, leaping down from the tree to land next to Sakura. "Sorry, I was just…thinking…"

Her frown softens and I can see the sadness reflected in her eyes. "You were thinking about her, weren't you?"

"Yeah…" I mean, how can I think about anything else right now? She's gone, and I should have been there to protect her. I should have insisted that I go as well, and the three of us could easily have taken down whoever took her and Utakata. I mean, it had to have been the Akatsuki, right? They snatched up two jinchuuriki and left behind the destruction produced by a pretty intense battle. I saw the traces of the fire blast, and I know that she must have fought hard.

"Naruto…" A soft hand touches my hand, pulling me along down the from the peak, and I blink twice to focus my vision on Sakura, who stares at me unhappily. "Come on…you need to eat. You've been sitting up there all day. Starving yourself isn't going to help her, you know? You have to build up your strength for when we go out to get her back. Sai's out there with the tracking teams, so we have to be ready to go as soon as he sends us a message."

That's right…Sai is out there as well. And if he finds anything, we'll be the first people he sends a message to. "You're right." Besides, Ciara isn't one to die so easily. If she can handle stopping me from killing Pervy Sage when we goofed up and the fox took control, then she can handle staying alive until we can find her. _She can…she definitely can… She has to…_

"Come on." Sakura pushes open the back door to the gigantic house, closing it behind us as we take off our sandals. "There's rice balls, salad, miso soup, and fried pork. I even picked up some mochi while I was at the market."

"That sounds good." And as she lists it, my stomach grumbles. She's right. If I'm going to get the call and find out where to go to find my friend, then I've got to do it on a full stomach.

Still…the fact that she's not here makes this place feel…not quite right. It's still warm, inviting, safe…but there's just something missing, something that she brings to this place that makes it all…comfortable, natural. Because right now, it feels like there's a gaping void just peeking out from behind every corner. And finding her is the only way I know of to fill it.

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

It's silent…

Dark…

Cold…

Empty…

Lonely…

Nothingness…not even the sound of his voice to comfort me.

A dull ache where my heart should be.

My arms have long since gone numb, something I wish my wings would do right about now. If I move, they drag, if they drag, the broken bones scrape along the floor and shoot pain straight into my back, aggravating the scabbed over but unhealed skin there.

It burns there too, where my skin has been torn to shreds. That's probably infection setting in. But…I don't care.

They're dead. Itachi is dead. Utakata is dead. Yagura, Yugito, Roshi, Han, Fu…they're all dead. I should have done something. I don't know what, but…something, anything… But now they're dead…and it's all my fault.

It's my fault…and because of that…I'll be joining them soon…

There's no tears left for me to cry. Dehydration, I'd call it. It's been…five…six days, now? Longer? I don't…know. I can't see. There's nothing to listen to. Even the sound of a ticking clock would be better than this endless silence.

A click in front of me makes my heart leap, and my ears twitch as I listen to the sound of a door opening. And footsteps, one pair approaching faster than the others. Approaching closer than the others. _Who…?_

"Karin, get the injuries on her back. Suigetsu, float the broken bones so that Jugo can set them." _That's…Sasuke, isn't it?_ I half-thought that his voice appearing the last time was my imagination, but…here it is again. Or maybe I'm just hallucinating again.

I can hear four distinct footsteps moving around, one of them striding about almost silently near the door. The tearing of paper catches my attention, and so does the slow trickle of chakra through my body. _Is he…is he undoing the seals?_

The trickle of chakra increases into a steady flow, not much, but enough that my limbs don't feel quite so dead anymore. But the ones on my skin have my mind remaining stubbornly silent. I hate the silence.

The mask over my mouth is removed first, letting me take in a deep breath of stale dungeon air. "You came back?" My voice is a rasp, my throat as dry as a desert

"Hn." Gentle fingers reach up and around the feathers protruding from my head, removing the mask around my eyes and nearly blinding me with the dim light filtering in from the hall outside.

And there they are, those deep onyx eyes that I know so well. Sasuke… Even if this is just a hallucination conjured to comfort me before I die, then I'll take it. I just don't want to die alone in this place, surrounded by people who see me as nothing but a weapon and an animal.

He glances over my shoulder, nodding slightly. I wonder why…

Then, a damp cloth presses to my back, and my wounds protest violently to the intense burning of a surgery-grade antiseptic. "Ngh!" I bite my lip to hold it in, but it feels like my back is being scrubbed with acid.

"Quit squirming!" The hand holding the cloth presses down hard, opening up the scabbed over wounds to get at the surface of my skin. "Your injuries are all infected. You'll die if I don't treat you." Funny that she would say that, considering why I'm here. Karin, I think Sasuke called her? "Hell, you might die even if I do treat you. The infection is definitely in your blood by now."

"I know." I take another deep breath, gritting my teeth as she presses down again. If only he could touch my mind, let out his chakra…then everything would be oka- "AH!" I lurch away from her as the bones in my left wing pull and stretch and stab through the delicate skin under the feathers.

"Sorry about that!" Water swirls about as I look over into the darkness. There's two people there, one with white hair, the other with bright orange hair that almost reminds me of him…the one who attacked us. But the way that he lifts my wing, gently, if a little gingerly, assures me that he's not the same person. Besides, he's too young, and he definitely doesn't have all of the piercings that the other one did.

The pale one ambles about, coating the floor in water and soaking my clothes as the water level rises under my shattered wings. "This is way more complicated than I thought it was going to be."

"Suigetsu, be careful." The ginger touches carefully, stretching and straightening the wing across the surface of the water. "The bones are hollow and fragile, we need to be careful with them."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it, be careful with the huge demon wings." Suigetsu rolls his eyes as he raises the swells beneath them. "Why are we doing this anyway, Sasuke?"

Before me, Sasuke's gaze sharpens, falling on his…comrade? Teammate? I'm not entirely sure what their relationship is, but he seems to be giving the order, nonetheless. "Did you enjoy being in that tank, Suigetsu?"

Suigetsu frowns. "Uh…duh? Of course not."

"Then why do you seem to think she likes sitting here in the dark with her wings broken and wounds infected?" I think…what Sasuke is implying is that he's trying to make me more comfortable. Or at least make this experience less torturous.

I guess the torture part gets to come later.

"Alright, alright, sheesh…" Suigetsu goes about lifting pieces here and there for…I think the last one's name is Jugo. "Uptight, bossy, annoying…" He grumbles the whole long way while his partner straightens out each bone piece by piece.

Dark eyes turn back on me, searching mine, searching for answers. "Has anyone else come to see you?"

"No." Only the sheer agony of my back and wings tells me that this isn't some kind of merciful hallucination. "Only you."

He frowns, then reaches into a bag attached to his hip and pulls out a small canteen. I can hear the water swirling inside it, and it makes my mouth feel indescribably dry. "Drink." He uncorks it and holds it to my lips.

I suppose that it doesn't really matter if it's poisoned or not. So I tilt my head slightly and let the first few drops of water run past my lips and down my throat. It's cold, smooth, and it soothes the feeling of sandpaper in my throat. He lifts the canteen as the water drains slowly, pulling back slightly when another of Karin's attempts to clean my back sends some water down the wrong way and I fall into a coughing fit.

"Be careful." I'm not sure if he's saying it to me or to Karin, but Sasuke raises a cloth to my face, wiping away the water and a smear of blood along with it. "Can you purge infections from your body the way you do poison?" _Ah…he means like in the Land of Tea._

I shake my head slightly, my head pounding from the rush of blood. "It's his power that does it, not mine." And I can't hear him. It's been so long since I last heard him.

"Right…" His gaze drops to my stomach and his onyx eyes swirl to red. "There's seals that are restricting the use of chakra."

"Yes." Both restricting chakra, and diving our minds from each other. It hurts. It hurts to be alone in my own head. I would do…almost anything to hear his voice one last time. Even if it's right before I die. "I can't…hear him anymore. I can't even feel the touch of his chakra."

"He?" Suigetsu tugs on my other wing, straightening out some of the bones and fluffing up the feathers. "What are you talking about?"

"Suzaku…" I sigh and close my eyes, as if doing that will help bring his presence back.

"The demon, right?" My eyes open to Sasuke's slightly quizzical expression. But it looks more like he just wants confirmation of what he already knows.

"Yes." My gaze drops to my stomach, where I can't even feel the seal anymore. But now that it's been compounded with another seal, my body just feels heavy. Then again, that might just be the chains still clamped around my wrists and ankles.

"Alright." I twitch in surprise as he places his free hand to my stomach, feeling around there a little. When he presses his fingers into the torn fabric of my shirt, I pull back a little. "What is it?"

"What are you doing?" I know that this is Sasuke, but I only ever let Naruto touch where my seal lies invisible against my skin. Not even Jiraiya gets to touch that place.

"I'm going to disrupt the seals." His Sharingan spin into a new shape and they look…almost like a pair of magnolia blossoms. "That should allow enough chakra through for your body to heal."

 _He's going to shoot chakra into them and force them to break using a chakra spike?_ I suppose that it's possible to do that for one or two of them, but I've probably been layered in so many seals, weak ones that they might be, that breaking all of them would be impossible without a sealing expert, or enough time for Suzaku to force them open manually. "A little lower." If he takes off the seals on my hands, they'll know, but if he disrupts the invisible ones, then maybe I'll be able to hear him again. Maybe I won't be alone in my head anymore.

Sasuke frowns as he lowers his hand, pressing his palm firmly to my skin. His chakra pulses, seeping inside and towards the heaviness inside me. "Your chakra is all twisted up."

"Please…" I close my eyes, exhausted by the agony of my back and the drastic lack of chakra I've been dealing with the last…however long I've been here. I need to hear him again, I need to feel my friend inside me.

His chakra pulses again, fierce and blazing hot. "Karin, are you almost done with her wounds?"

The girl behind me scoffs and finally takes her hands off my back. "Yeah, but only what's on the surface. I can't cure what's already inside of her."

"That's fine, she can handle that part." His fingers dig in a bit deeper as he motions to Suigetsu and Jugo. "Are you done?"

"Yes, all of the bones have been realigned." Jugo steps back and wrings the water out of his cloak. "What now?"

"Now, you and Suigetsu stand back and stay clear of her wings. Karin, block any hint of chakra from leaving this room." It seems like he planned for this. "I'm going to disrupt the seals now."

"Alright…" Jugo backs away and flattens himself against a wall.

Suigetsu looks at me sceptically, but does the same. "Are you sure that this is a good idea? Break those seals, and you could set her off on us. And I really don't wanna see what she can do with her chakra restored."

"Suigetsu." Sasuke's scarlet eyes glare at his teammate. "Shut up."

"Sasuke…" I sigh and shake my head. "I told you, it's alright." After all, how can I expect them to act any differently when they don't know me? "I don't expect any differently."

Something in his eyes hardens, but he doesn't say a word about it. Instead, he just flares his chakra, focusing it all into a series of pulses through my abdomen. It hurts, but I've had worse. Hell, their treatment of my back and wings was worse than this.

"Sasuke, I've done it." Karin's hands are held together and I can feel the chakra coming from her.

 _Wait, I can feel it?_ I take in a breath and I can feel the chakra flowing. Another pulse blasts through me, then another, and another, until something inside me shatters and I cry out in pain. Or maybe it's relief. I honestly don't know anymore.

 _Chick…I am here._

My eyes flash open as a minor floodgate opens and the room fills to the brim with chakra. Mine. And his as well.

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

I thought that I'd accounted for all of the variables. Chakra fluctuations, traps within the seals, accidental detonation, all of it that the books explained. I fought that Cloud jinchuuriki. I should have expected the backlash to have been this extreme.

The chakra lashes out, pushing me back towards the wall as visible streams of white and fiery red chakra race around the room. Her mouth is open in a silent scream, her arms tugging violently on the chains holding them apart.

Then comes the snap, a loud, unforgiving snap as her wings convulse, catching fire and rising into the air as the broken bones fuse themselves back together, giving shape back to the wings that stretch out along the walls and ceiling. Her hair catches fire as well, burning with a bright scarlet fire that matches the feathers sticking up around her face.

Her chakra pulses once, twice, then the wings flare out one last time before burning away into a small column of smoke rising from her back. Those fiery eyes glow at me from in the flickering darkness, before the light leaves them. She slumps forward, limp and unmoving. The wings and feathers are all gone, and so is the fire, leaving her body perfectly untouched by the flames.

The chakra in the room dissipates and Suigetsu decides that it's safe enough to pry himself out of the corner he stuffed himself into. "What the hell was THAT!? Are you crazy, Sasuke!? Why would you want to just partly unseal this kind of power!?"

"It's because she has this power." The power to destroy whole villages, nations, even. "And she has information, access, and skills that I require." Information that will clearly have to wait until later. "The three of you can go now, she'll be asleep for a while." And when her fever breaks, I have questions for her.

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

"Chick…Chick…can you hear me?" Yeah, I can hear a voice, but it sounds like it's right in front of me, or above me, instead of in my head. But that's impossible. Isn't it?

My eyelids feel heavy, but I force them open to the sight of a clear blue sky. "What…?" _I could have sworn that I was locked in a dungeon somewhere. When did I get outside?_

A soft, rumbling laugh whispers to me on the breeze. "Hello, Chick."

"Chick?" But that voice is… "Suzaku?" I roll over onto my stomach and look up to see a huge red bird the size of a small mountain, floating contentedly on a clear blue pond. _Wait…I know this place._ "Are we inside my mind?"

His giant head bobs up and down, flames spilling off of it and disappearing into the air. "Yes. Your body is healing, and I thought it would be wise for you to remain here, where you feel no pain. And it has been too long since I last felt the touch of your mind, your heart, that I felt some time together would be productive."

Suzaku… Tears well up in my eyes, cascading down my cheeks as I see one of those people I miss so dearly. "Yeah…I think so too."

A smile twinkles in his eyes and he sweeps his wing over me, scooping me up and bringing me to rest against his neck. "Now, why don't you tell me what's transpired while I've been asleep?"

"What's happened, huh…?" I lean against the soft feathers and close my eyes. "Well…I found Sasuke again. Or, I guess…he found me instead. You probably know that we're locked up in a dungeon right now, but it's strange…" I hadn't expected to find Sasuke here, to say the least. "He's been asking me questions and telling me things…" Things that disturb me, but also validate what I thought. And the way that he said some of it makes me come to some devastating conclusions. "…He said that someone ordered Itachi to commit genocide against the Uchiha Clan. He said that it was the village elders."

"And I take it that you believe this information?" Suzaku goes quiet for a moment, humming softly, but strongly enough that it reminds me of a massage chair that Jiraiya once put me in while I slept when I was fourteen. "I do not know Itachi as well as you, but from what I saw through your eyes, I would have to say that I agree that the boy would not have done such a thing lightly, nor out of his own desire to slaughter his kin. And then…for it to come so soon on the heels of your own tragedy…"

"Yeah." It's suspicious, but that's not enough to convict someone of ordering genocide. And Itachi can hardly be tried for it. He's…dead.

"I am sorry, Chick. I know that the boy meant a lot to you, but he was beyond your help, and beyond even mine when we reached him. It was his time, however prematurely that time may have been. And there was nothing that you could have done to change that."

"I know." I know it in my head, but in my heart…I just feel like there was something I could have done. Anything. If I'd learned that ninjutsu from Lady Chiyo, then maybe… I would have had enough chakra to do it without giving up my life, I'd caught him right before he took his last breath, so his spirit hadn't left his body just yet. So maybe…just maybe…

"Chick…" He nuzzles me with the side of his giant face. "That boy loved you, that much has always been clear. And he would not want your heart to suffer like this."

Something else that I know in my head, but it's definitely not that easy. Nothing is ever that easy. "Why do you think they did it?" If they did it, which, if they did, needs to be proven first. And I know just who to ask to track down the proof I'd need. The proof that Sasuke would need…

"Chick…there are many in this world who believe that it would function at its best if they were the ones to control it. And in order to do so, those who are more powerful must be removed from that power. To humans, murder is an ancient tool in order to achieve those ends." He sounds sad, the wisdom of so many years weighing heavily in his words. "And your family had ensured that in order to remove any other clans from their positions of power, an assailant would be forced to remove the protector, before attacking the target."

When I was young, I didn't understand at all what that meant, but now, I'm not under those same illusions. Maybe they're not all lifted just yet, but they're being stripped away one by one, and it hurts. Every single time…it hurts. "They had to take us out first…because they knew that if they moved against the Uchiha and their plans were leaked, we would stop it. If Dad was still alive when the Uchiha were threatened, then he would have stopped it all. Does that sound right?"

"Indeed, Chick. I am well aware of what you saw that night, and I believe that you are correct. You were betrayed, and it was merely one of many steps to solidify the power of one within the village who desires neither peace, cooperation, nor understanding. Someone who is incapable of desiring what it is that your family has long since held dear."

 _Long since held dear, huh?_ I suppose that he's right. No one in my family would be able to order such a thing. We've always held too much love and respect for life to ever condone the murder of an innocent, let alone the slaughter of an entire bloodline. The young…the old…none were spared. None but Sasuke. "Then what do I do? How do I protect Naruto from the Akatsuki? How do I protect Sasuke from being hurt again? How do I stop others from suffering the same fate?"

"Ah, Chick…all you can do is your very best. And that is all that anyone can ask of you." He sighs, nearly squishing me into his soft, warm feathers. "For now, however, we face a far more immediate problem."

"Yeah." He's right. There's nothing that I can do to protect anyone right now. And then, there's the fate that awaits me here if it proves impossible for me to escape. "Hey Suzaku…you know what happens to jinchuuriki when their demon is taken out, don't you?"

"…Yes." If we die together, our souls ripped away from each other, I will die, and he will be taken by the Akatsuki, to use and abuse as they see fit. But…that's not the only option before us.

"Suzaku…if it looks like the Akatsuki are going to get their way, will you support me?" I know how I would rather this end, and if that means taking Suzaku with me to protect him from being taken by them, then that's what I'll do. I'll take him with me, and maybe in a few years, or a few decades, he can reform himself and be free.

He wraps me up all nice and warm, a comfort to my dark thoughts. "Of course, Chick. I will always support you."

Good. Because this is the only way to protect him, too.


	36. Mercy

**Well, Mikan, that's…a very specific request you've got there. You really want me to go nuts with the Edo Tensei and just revive everybody, huh? I mean…I guess I could swing it, but that's like asking me to build you a bunch of nuclear bombs and then hand you the controls. Insanity ensues. But…I do have hypothetical plans in place for IF such a thing were to happen, as well as the line-up involved. So…maybe, but not yet, we've still got a ways to go before shit really hits the fan.**

 **But what do all of you think? How much Edo Tensei BS do you want me to pull when the war gears up?**

 **Speaking of shit, well…I suppose that depends entirely on what your definition of Sasuke "doing shit to her" entails. Because things will happen, lots of things, many different kinds of things, some involving Sasuke, some not, and some you will like, some you might not. But I promise that he will do many things to her, around her, and with her. And if any of you thought dirty things…well, you're a bunch of pervs. You also might not be wrong, depending on how things play out. Maybe... Possibly...**

 **For now, let's get some more angst.**

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

Four and a half hours, and she's still asleep. She's been running a high fever this whole time, but her skin is finally cooling under the damp cloth on her forehead. I've loosened the chains so that she can lay down properly, but she's still too sealed up to put up any kind of fight, if it came to that. Not that I really expect her to attack me, the way she looks at me reminds me too much of Itachi.

Thinking back on it, there's a lot in her that reminds me of Itachi. The way I've seen her devour sweets, the way she'll smile fondly at someone she cares about, and the way she'll kiss my forehead when it suits her. Granted, it's more embarrassing, but less painful than Itachi's pokes were, but the sentiment is there. It makes me wonder if she picked up the habit from him, and what other habits she might have picked up.

And then, there was that look in her eye two days ago, a resignation there that I saw in Itachi's eyes before he died. She smiled, but it never reached her eyes, not like the smiles she always shot Naruto. She must know what's going to happen to her. _I wonder if she knows just how she's supposed to die?_

"Ah!" She catches my attention as she shifts on the floor, hands tugging at her restraints as she thrashes about, her face twisted up in anguish. "No…no! Don't!" My fingers twitch as her back arches off the floor, bending like a taut bow as her mouth opens wide. _Wait, she's not going to-_

"AHHHHHH!" A shrill scream tears itself from her throat. Damn it!

I jump to my feet and cross to the middle of the room in an instant. The first thing I note is the presence of red, feathery markings on her forehead and cheeks, just like when she's partially transformed. What's going on!?

Tears drip down her cheeks as she shakes and writhes around on the floor. At this rate, she's going to hit her head on the floor and give herself a concussion. So I press my palms to her shoulders and hold her down to prevent her from hurting herself. _Damn it…what is she seeing!?_

"AH! Her eyes shoot open and she struggles against my grip. "Let…GO!" Her hands press up against my chest, trying to keep me off of her. It's like she really doesn't understand that she's going to end up hurting herself at this rate.

"STOP!" I feel my eyes bleed red as I release her shoulders and seize her wrists, slamming them back down to the floor to stop her flailing in its tracks.

Thankfully, the thrashing lessens, and she stops actively fighting me, merely twitching in my grasp. "…Take me…" What? Tears start dripping from her eyes as the bright spark of fear that once dwelt in her eyes darkens into hopeless resignation. "…Take me instead…"

"Take you?" _What the hell is she talking about?_ "Can you hear me?" Emerald irises focus on me for a moment, flickering back and forth wildly across my face.

She's terrified. Of me? Her nightmare? Or something else that I can't see?

Finally, she shudders violently, before relaxing back against the ground, her expression calming somewhat and her eyes clearing. "…Sasuke…" Evidently, her lucidity has returned, at least for now. "Why are you here…?"

I raise an eyebrow, as if it should be obvious that I'm here because I still have questions and she has the answers.

But she shakes her head wearily. "Why are you here, in this place, with these murderers? Do you know…what they're doing to us?"

If she had asked me that question a week ago, I would have said no. "Yes."

Her eyes glitter with sadness. I guess that means that she really does know what's going on here. "Then why…? Is it to get Itachi's body back?" Now THAT question, I hadn't expected.

Itachi's body…I hadn't really thought about it, hadn't wanted to think about it. But now that she mentions it, I should find a place to bury him before much longer. There's only so long that I want him to stay stored away in whatever passes for a morgue here. "Maybe."

Her eyes narrow in confusion. "Then why…what do you hope to gain by staying with these monsters?"

"Monsters?" The touch of irony to her words doesn't escape me. "If they're the monsters, then what does that make you?"

I expect her to snap at me for the comment, roll her eyes, make a joke, say something biting or sarcastic. I hope for it. She's been too…tired, apathetic, like she's not really even in there anymore. This isn't the girl I remember. It's just…wrong.

The sad, exhausted expression is even worse. It looks completely out of place on her face. "Who knows…I guess…a relic from the past that's soon to disappear."

A relic, huh…? I have to wonder just what she means by that. "And that means…?"

The corners of her lips turn up into a hollow smile. "It's nothing for you to worry about." There's a tiny flare of chakra, barely visible to my eyes, but there nonetheless. "If you're here…that means that you have more questions, right?"

Yes, I most certainly do. "Thursday. Does that day mean anything to you?"

Her eyes widen, and I have my answer even before she opens her mouth. "Itachi and Shisui's visits."

"Hn." So I guessed right, she's the one that Itachi was always sneaking out to see on Thursdays if he didn't have a mission. I suppose that's one mystery solved. "That explains a lot."

She shifts, visibly uncomfortable, and the chains clink and the links scrape against each other. "Did he tell you about them?"

"Not really." Then again, Itachi always was good at keeping his secrets. Right up until the very end. "He used to give me some bullshit story about going to visit a princess. I believed it when I was younger, but I stopped when I was older." After the night his world came crashing down, bringing mine along with it.

"I see." Her gaze softens, and for a moment, she looks almost…happy. "I always looked forward to his visits. But when I was seven, he stopped coming. He gave me his mask, his shortsword, and just disappeared."

"The night that Danzo ordered the Uchiha Clan to be slaughtered in their beds." Her head snaps up as the bitter words drip from my lips. "I guess you would have been too young to know that Danzo gave Itachi an ultimatum. Kill the whole clan and he would allow me to live, or side with the Uchiha and plunge the village into civil war."

"Danzo…?" I was right, this is news to her. Maybe wasn't aware of his name, but she's clearly listening to me now. And I rather like the flashes of anger, shock, horror, and utter disgust in her eyes. They're gratifying in ways that are hard to explain. But there's no hatred in them. Not yet, anyway.

"That's right. Like I said before, according to the new information I've found, it was the village elders who ordered the deaths of the Uchiha, and they forced Itachi to be the one to take on the role of their killer." I still need to verify it, but all I need for that is to catch one of them and force the information out. "And according to the same source, it wasn't the first time they'd ordered a clan to be slaughtered. Two years earlier, another of the Leaf's clans fell victim to their machinations. And barely anyone remembers what happened now. And just like with the Uchiha, there was only one survivor."

The emotions in her eyes blaze fiercely for a moment, before cooling suddenly. "…Treason." It's hard to tell if she's furious, incredulous, exhausted, or just in pain. Everything plays across her face so quickly that it's hard to keep track of it all. Then, her gaze sharpens. I remember that look, it's the same one she had during the chunin exams so long ago, when she was analyzing the first exam. "Alright. How are you going to prove it?"

That was easier than I thought it would be. "Make them confess."

At that, her expression falls flat. "That's your master plan? You're going to confront them and interrogate them?" She shakes her head, a sigh falling from her lips. "If you go about it like that, you're just going to get yourself killed. I-" She bites her lip, taking in a deep, shaking breath. "I saw the bodies back then, when everyone was killed. Hundreds of them. But there were many that didn't belong to my family, who I didn't recognize at all. If the elders are behind these crimes, then it means they've got an army of bodyguards there to protect them. If you go to the village, not only will you have the regular forces trying to bring you in, but you'll have to contend with elite assassins for bodyguards. And then, you would have to explain why you did it, maybe even without the proof that you were trying to get in the first place."

She seems determined to make this more complicated than it needs to be. But I guess I can humor her for a few minutes. "Then what would you suggest? Would you just let them go after everything they've done?"

"No." Her voice almost sends a shiver down my spine. "Those sorts of crimes are forbidden and for good reason. But…if I were in your position, I would contact an ally on the inside and have them begin covert investigations into the inner workings of the village. I would involve Akito and Shikamaru, Tsunade, and probably Kakashi as well. Then I would advise that they recruit Ibiki Morino, Shikaku Nara, and Inoichi Yamanaka. It's a team large enough to cast a wide and effective net, but small enough to contain information. They would know what to look for, and they're all loyal to Tsunade."

Loyal to to the Hokage, hm? She says that like it's supposed to make them trustworthy. "I wouldn't trust the Leaf as far as I could throw it."

"And you have your reasons for that, but there are people there who still care about seeing justice done." Her eyes dim somewhat. "And to prevent crimes like that from happening again. So if you're serious about taking down the people who did those things, then if nothing else, I can vouch for Akito's cooperation. He can help you get the information that you need. I trust him…he's loyal to me, so I promise that you can trust him if you see him."

She says the word trust so easily. I would have thought that she'd have figured out by now that ninjas can't be trusted. "You would leave your problem for others to solve?"

"Don't say it like that, Sasuke." She sighs impatiently, casting her gaze around the barren room. "You've been here long enough to realize that there's four ways I could get out of here. Two of them might end with me walking out of here alive. But that's a pretty improbable maybe."

The Akatsuki kill her, like they did her friend earlier, she fights her way out alone, she chooses to die on her own terms, or she gets help to escape. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that much. "What if I could get you out of here?" A jinchuuriki with a powerful but calm demon whose interests align with mine is infinitely more useful than whatever uncontrollable power Madara is offering.

"You-?" Her eyes open wide, staring at me through the dim light. "Sasuke, you can't, you would just get yourself killed!"

"Hn, I think I can manage getting one prisoner out of a dungeon without anyone noticing." Madara, or whoever he really is, underestimate me. And that's fine. It's just one more thing that I can work to my advantage. "I wasn't planning on staying here much longer anyway."

I smirk as the spark returns to her eyes. There we go, now I've got you. Then, it calms, and her eyes flick towards the door, as though expecting someone to be watching us. "…If you can find my bag, there's a a couple of storage scrolls in it. One is for weapons and food, the other is blank. It's…meant for transportation of corpses to a morgue. I'd…like to bring Itachi's body home for burial. And the bodies of the other jinchuuriki, if they're here. If they're still…"

"You want me to find them." That must be her purpose in telling me that. "You can't walk around freely, so you need someone else to do it."

"Yes." She focuses back on me, gratitude coloring her expression this time. "I know it's asking a lot, but there's no one else I can ask."

Of course there isn't. "Fine, I'll find any of the bodies that are here. How will I know them?"

"One is a woman with long blonde hair and dark pants with cloud designs on them. The next is a young man, he looks like a boy with grey-brown hair and a scar under his eye. Then there's an older man with red hair. A large man dressed all in red armor. A girl with tanned skin and mint green hair. And…" The gratitude gives way to guilt. "And then…"

"The one with the blue robe and dark brown hair." She called him Utakata. "He's the last one, right?"

"Yes. I couldn't save him, either." Her head hangs dejectedly. "There's a lot of people I haven't been able to save."

In that moment, I know that she's thinking about Itachi. I wonder about how many times she's thought about Itachi when I didn't have a clue. He hadn't put the effort into deceiving her the way he did me. Is that supposed to make me feel better or worse?

"Sasuke?" I find her face again, and this time, there's a hauntingly sad look about her. "I need to…ask you for a special favor."

"What is it?" I'm not in the habit of handing out favors like candy, and she's going to have to explain herself if she wants something.

She inhales deeply, and I can hear the slight shaking of her breath. "I'm sorry to ask you this, really, I am…but I know what they're going to do to me in this place. I can't…I can't let them take him. I can't just let them rip my soul apart to get to him. So please…" She looks straight into my eyes, resignation and determination present in equal measure. "If I run out of time, and they go ahead with the sealing ceremony, I want you to put your sword through my heart, then burn my body."

My thoughts come to a screeching halt in the deafening silence. "…You're asking me to murder you?"

"No." I hate the empty smile on her face, as well as the way she seems to flip back and forth between being happy and being sad and being something, somewhere in the middle. Especially when she is, yes, trying to ask me to murder her. "I'm asking for an act of mercy. I want you to save me."

I scoff at the notion. "I can't save you if you're dead."

"You're wrong, there are many ways to save someone. And this…would just be saving me from a worse fate." She knows. She knows that I saw the end of the sealing ceremony, heard the screams echoing through this place from when they extracted the demon. And she's still fucking smiling like she's expecting to die right now! "I don't want to die that way, and I don't want them to have him. Even if that means that I have to take him with me for a little while. You're the only one I can ask, because Itachi isn't here to protect me from them anymore."

My hands clench into fists as I rise to my feet and stride right out the door, closing it a bit more forcefully than I'd meant behind me. "Damn it!" _She had to go and say something like that before I could even get all of the answers I wanted. She invokes Itachi's name like it's nothing! Like she's-_

But I take a deep, calming breath as I move away from the door. _No…she's right. If Itachi had really been after her, he could have just told her to go with him, and she probably would have. So that means that he was doing the opposite. But Itachi isn't here anymore, and whatever interference he was running to stop them from getting a hold of her is clearly gone. There's nothing to protect her now that he's dead._ Nothing here, anyway. And now, she's in a state where she can't even protect herself, let alone anyone else.

Standing around here isn't going to change anything.

I have plans to make, and a jinchuuriki to abduct.

* * *

Gaara's P.O.V.

"Lord Kazekage, here's the latest report from the scouting teams!" The door to my office slams open once again. Perhaps it's time to consider simply removing the door for simplicity's sake. I doubt that it has been closed for more than ten minutes at a time over the past seven days. "The Land of Rivers is clear of any signs of the Leaf's jinchuuriki."

"I see…" I know that I am supposed to remain here, but every fiber of my being compels me to join in the search, no matter what the dangers might be.

The hard spine of a book comes down on the chunin's head. "You idiot, that's not a GOOD thing! We WANT to find signs of her, and it means that we have one less place that we can look!" It does provide some gratification to see that Masaru is hard at work patching up the teams that have been scouring the borders and past them for signs of Ciara. His attitude has improved significantly since the month that she spent here, teaching our medics. Perhaps he simply required a particular kind of firm hand.

I glance at the chunin blankly. "Very well, you may go." Preferably before the sand inching across the floor decides to get very well acquainted with him.

Fortunately, he flees the room rather quickly, Masaru watching as his foolish comrade disappears from sight. "Well, now I know how she felt when she was here dealing with me. Some people are just stupid." The light, slightly callous tone permeates the room as he turns his gaze on me. "I have the reports from the hospital here. We've been patching up all of the teams and supplying food pills. We've still got plenty of stock, but the effects of exhaustion are starting to show. I've included a proposal for the new rotations of the teams that should prove to be more efficient now that we've crossed off some regions as having no signs of her."

"I see." But then, it means that we are still effectively nowhere in the search. Not only that, but through my third eye, I can see the council members conspiring about something. Not all of them, of course, but it would be a lie to claim that Kankuro, Temari and I had rooted out all of the dissidence in the village council. They're planning on making this difficult…

"Lord Kazekage?" Masaru shifts his weight from his heels to the balls of his feet, as though preparing to run. "If you're anxious to go out and look for her yourself, Etsuko, Katsuo, and I would volunteer to accompany you."

"Yes, I'm sure you would…" The three of them have been working hard enough as is in the hospital over the past week, tending to the teams. But if I were to ask them to accompany me, I know that they would do so without hesitation. Perhaps, though, it's time that I did something foolish. "Tell them to prepare to move out this evening as part of a six man team. And have Takamaru brought to me, I have a message to send."

"Yes, Sir!" I pretend not to notice the bright flash of determination on his face. But it's heartening to see that Naruto is not the only one who can change someone's mind, though he's always been more adept at it than her.

I pull out a scroll and ink brush to spread out on the table before me. _I had best inform the Hokage about how we are proceeding here._ And perhaps she'll have new information for our teams to go on. For me to go on.

Because I'll not have Ciara go through the excruciating pain of extraction. Not if I have the power to stop it.

* * *

Tsunade's P.O.V.

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. And still nothing. _Where the hell could they be hiding her?_ It takes incredible resources to hide away a captive jinchuuriki, let alone two of them. We should have found at least a trace of them by now. But it's like the two of them vanished into thin air, along with whoever abducted them.

A sharp rap on my door is accompanied by the soft sound of a cane hitting the ground. I know who that is, and I'm surprised that the old geezer even bothered to knock. "What is it?"

The door swings open to reveal that person I expected, and the last that I want to see right now. "Princess Tsunade." Danzo…

I'm tired, frustrated, and I have no patience for dealing with old farts trying to undermine my authority. "What is it, Danzo?" Is he finally coming to me with something that I can have him arrested for? Wouldn't that be nice…

The wizened old codger strides slowly towards my desk, tapping his cane disapprovingly against the ground with every step. "What are you hoping to accomplish by wasting the village's resources on such a pointless venture?"

"Pointless venture?" This man certainly knows how to play the villain, I'll give him that. Even now, I'd rather let Naruto at him for saying such a thing. "It isn't a pointless venture to see to it that one of our most promising young ninja makes it home alive." My fist comes down, cracking my desk almost in half. "She is a loyal shinobi and does not deserve to be left in the hands of the enemy!"

"So you say, but there is nothing to indicate that the jinchuuriki was taken by force, only that a battle occurred at that location at some point." He can't possibly be suggesting that she deserted the village… "You must know that no Shiryugu has ever been taught loyalty to this village. At best, their allegiance to the Leaf was secondary. In all likelihood, our village's secrets are being handed right to the enemy. There is no time to waste on these pointless rescue missions. The jinchuuriki cannot be trusted and must be eliminated by any means necessary!"

"ENOUGH!" My desk crashes into the wall, sending papers flying everywhere as I reach out to grab Danzo by the collar. "I don't know what fuels your vendetta against HER, but I would sooner trust her even if she HAD betrayed the village than I would trust you! I know where her loyalties lie and where her heart is. Now get out of my office!"

His face returns to its impassive neutrality, but the air remains charged with my anger. "Mark my words, Tsunade, your blind faith will be your undoing in trying to attain a force that you cannot hope to control."

The door closes firmly behind him as I fume, furiously trying to contain myself. "That old bastard…" Never have I so wanted to throw him through the wall of my office.

But Danzo…there's something about his words that rubs me the wrong way, more that he usually does. He's far too focused on the idea that we're going to be betrayed by the one person most loyal to Naruto. I can't believe that she would have it in her.

 _So why does he…? It just doesn't add up._

I know that Kakashi is sitting outside my window, again. He's likely looking for news to bring back to Naruto. The brat has barely been held back from storming in here five times a day, looking for more leads on his missing friend. "Kakashi, get me those three. Make sure they're not seen."

"Gotcha." It's barely a whisper, but I know that the order will be carried out to the letter. It's late, and normally, I wouldn't pull Shikaku and Inoichi from their families at this time of the evening, but this is something that can't wait.

I refuse to let Danzo pull the wool over my eyes. And that means that I AM going to find out just what it is that he's hiding from me.


	37. Parting Rain

**So…who's ready for a jail break? Cause that's going to be coming up in the near future. Also, you guys are going to hate me for how I do it. Maybe.**

 **As for how she's feeling about Naruto, we'll get to that once Sasuke stops hogging the story's p.o.v. He's very demanding once he gets going. Besides, it's all about timing, and reminiscing about Naruto can wait until she's out of the dungeon. She'll say the N-word in front of Sasuke in due time. He gets to think it first, though.**

 **To do this chapter, I've altered the timeline slightly and pushed back Jiraiya to after Itachi, instead of before. Ergo: we shall be seeing a never-before-seen perspective today. That of the one and ONLY…Pervy Sage. That means that there's going to be a fair bit of P.O.V. hopping here, because there's a lot going on all at once.**

 **The Edo Tensei question is still up in the air. If there's any specific people you want to see, then make your case, and I'll consider it. Let's not get too crazy, but I do still encourage a little insanity here.**

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

Ten seconds in and I already hate this place. Finding her things wasn't difficult, Suigetsu somehow managed to trip over her medical kit when Karin was chasing him through the tower, and if I remember anything about the way she operates, it's that she always keeps the important things in her medical kit. The storage scroll is pretty straightforward, using the same principles as the ones around my wrists where I keep my shuriken.

But this place smells like death. Not the rotting kind of death, but the sterile air of a hospital room for a dying person. I hate it in here, but this is where they're most likely to be keeping the bodies, if they still have them. Thirty small doors, thirty individual cold storage chambers. A capacity for thirty bodies. I don't want to think about why they've got so much cold storage here.

I glare at the first small door, noting the number one on it. _Time to start counting._ I grasp the handle and pull it open, revealing an empty chamber. It's almost a relief to see it empty. But that still leaves several more of them to check.

Opening the one marked with the number two reveals a bruised up body, a woman, with old, dried bloodstains on her hands. Blonde, dark pants with cloud designs on them. _So, this is one of the other jinchuuriki._ I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting, but she looks extremely…normal. Then again, so did that other one, until he turned into a giant demon.

I lay open the scroll next to her body and find the first empty space in the scroll, casting the transportation technique that will seal her body in the scroll until it can be delivered wherever Ciara is planning on taking them.

As the first body disappears, I open the next storage space, marked with the number three. It's easier because this body is lighter, gray-brown hair, and a scar under his eye. Though he's been here so long that his skin has turned gray, and there's old burn marks all over him. But there's no doubt that this is one as well. Two, and three… If my suspicions are right, then numbers four through eight should be full as well. And if number eight isn't full, then it means that they haven't begun the sealing just yet. Which means that we have time to disappear before anyone is the wiser.

I pack up the kid's body, the move on to the next one, the older man with the red hair. He's far easier to deal with than the fourth body, the huge one in the red armor. But the next two are easy, comprising of the man who was captured with her, and the girl with the green hair.

"Done." I unroll the scroll a little more after I finish with the girl's body, finding nothing in the compartments for eight, nine, or ten. But that's where the numbers stop, and across the room from them, an engraving on one of the doors catches my eye. It reminds me that I still have one body to collect.

I brush my fingers over the engraving of the Uchiha crest, then pull open the door and slide out my brother's body on a long metal tray. Itachi… I bite my lip, hard. He's cold, his skin turning gray, and his lips tinged with blue. And then…there's the container of liquid sitting next to him. Staring at me.

Madara must have already taken out Itachi's eyes for me. He made me the offer, but I turned him down. I don't want that man anywhere near my eyes. Or Itachi's, for that matter. But it seems that it's too late for that.

I make Itachi's body disappear, but take the container with his eyes floating around in it and stuff it away into another section of the medical kit, away from the scroll. It's done, the first phase of the plan is finished. _Now I'll collect Taka, and we'll make the final plans for our escape._ Because I don't intend to spend a minute here longer than I have to.

The door to the morgue clicks shut behind me, it's easier to breathe now that I've stepped out of that land of the dead. I remember a time when a place I once called home felt like that, like a morgue. I was naive back then, and I allowed myself to doubt Itachi.

But she never did, she doubted everything she heard about him instead.

* * *

Jiraiya's P.O.V.

Three days, I've been looking for a way into the village, and so far, nothing. The Hidden Rain is locked up tighter than Tsunade's sake cabinet when Shizune gets on one of her rants. Now that's one woman I really don't want to get on the wrong side of. She's almost as lethal as Tsunade with those poisoned needles of hers.

"Ribbit!" A tiny toad pops out of the water beside me, its gut wiggling and expanding. "Ribbit!" Its mouth opens wide, revealing a scroll stuffed into its belly.

"Oh, a message for me?" _This must be the little guy I left in the village._ I wasn't expecting any letters, so I have to wonder what could possibly be going wrong this time. I only ever get unexpected letters when things have gone wrong. Or if Naruto's gone and done something again. Probably something stupid, like wear himself out to the point of hospitalization, but I'm sure that Ciara can handle those incidents by herself. "Is it the Akatsuki this time?" It must be, considering the strength of the seal on the message.

I break the seal and unroll the scroll, expecting some kind of intelligence report, or maybe Tsunade trying to give me new orders. Well, it's certainly Tsunade's handwriting, but…this definitely isn't a normal intelligence report. And it's definitely the Akatsuki. "Damn it."

 ** _Jiraiya,_**

 ** _Several days ago, an incident occurred in which one of your students engaged in battle and disappeared with little trace. There's evidence that Ciara and another jinchuuriki were caught in a battle and taken, likely by the Akatsuki. Or at the very least, a battle occurred in her last known location. Currently, I have teams out searching for any trace of her, in conjunction with efforts from the Sand. The Kazekage himself has begun participating in the searches, but so far, nothing has turned up._**

 ** _Naruto has been difficult about all of this. It's wearing on him, and if we don't find something soon, I'm worried that he'll run off on his own and cover the Land of Fire in his shadow clones to search for her. He'd completely expose himself that way. Considering the enemy we might be facing, I've been reluctant to put him into the line of fire like that. But if the situation continues like this, he might decide to take the decision right out of my hands. You know what those two are like about each other._**

 ** _Also, Danzo is being particularly insistent about sending agents out to kill her, claiming that she's gone rogue and that this was part of her plan. I don't believe a word of it, but watch yourself out there as his insinuations might reach the wrong ears. Send news back if you find any trace of her that our teams might have missed. And Jiraiya, I'm sorry._**

 ** _Don't you dare die_**

 ** _Tsunade_**

I grip the letter tightly in my fist, crumpling the flimsy paper of the scroll. "Gods damn it!" This is exactly what I was trying to PREVENT. Well, it's a good thing that I always have a backup plan. I bite my thumb, pressing it to my hand, then to the ground.

Gamakichi appears in a large puff of smoke. "Yo, Boss, what's up?"

"Nothing good." I wish that this were a social call, but it's time to put this little guy to work for someone other than Naruto. "I'm going to be in the Hidden Rain for a few hours, so I want you to wait out here while I'm in there, okay?"

"Uh, sure, but why?" His confused frog face would be amusing right about now, were it not for the dire situation. "I mean, I could, but what's the point."

Right, explaining has to come first. "I might be sending Ciara out this way, so I need you to wait for her just in case, alright?" If the Hidden Rain really is the Akatsuki's headquarters, then there's a good chance that she's in there somewhere. "She's been captured, likely by the Akatsuki." I can't imagine that anyone but them would be able to get the drop on her like that. "So I'm going to go in, get her, and hopefully get out of there. But if anything happens to delay us, I'll send her out without me. I want you to escort her far enough away that she can escape on her own, or carry her to the safest place you can find if she's unable to go any further."

Mentioning the Akatsuki works wonders on the brat. "Righty-o, Jiraiya! I'll make sure that the kid gets back safe and sound. You can count on me!"

"Thanks." I glance off towards the north-east, where the city towers above the surrounding landscape. "If all goes well, I'll be back in a few hours. If not…" I'd really rather not think about what it will mean if I'm not back out here in a few hours. That'll just jinx me, and Tsunade will win a bet for once. At least, one that's not on Naruto.

"Grab the kid and get out of here, or go home cause she's not here. Gotcha." He waves his webbed hand lazily. "You go ahead and do what you gotta do. I'll be waiting right here for ya."

"Thanks, Gamakichi." I would have summoned his father, but he would have been far too conspicuous to leave out here for a few minutes, let alone a few hours. And someone could have seen that summoning from miles away. What we need now is stealth and speed, not raw battle power. That's a lesson that little Ciara picked up quickly during training.

Besides, if this really is the Akatsuki headquarters, then I'll be needing the boss toad in there with me, and not out here waiting.

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

I've got all of the bodies, her kit is packed and ready to go. I looked around and found a few odds and ends to top her supplies off with. Now, there's just kidnapping her and spiriting her away from here. "Suigetsu, what have you got on that rain outside." There's something strange about it, but I've never seen anything quite like it before. I'd rather not take my chances if it turns out to be dangerous. Which is why Karin is keeping watch to make sure that no one is listening in on this meeting. I don't want to tip my hand before I'm long gone with my prize in tow.

"Well, you were right, it's not normal rain. That shit is seriously fucking creepy." Suigetsu shoots an annoyed look at Karin. "Turns out, it's sending chakra signals back to the top of the tower." Where Pain is. Or at least where he's supposed to be.

Karin pushes her glasses up, glaring right back at Suigetsu. "Someone's watching us with it, they're using the rain to watch the entire city. It's a sensory type ninjutsu using the rainwater. There's no way to get out of the city without being seen until it stops."

"I see." Then somehow, we'll have to make the rain stop, or wait for it to stop on its own.

"Sasuke…" Jugo shifts uncomfortably against the wall. "What are you planning? Are we leaving this place? I thought you were going to use the Akatsuki to get the power of the Tailed Beasts."

"There's no need for that. We don't need them to hand us any power." Not when I'll have her working with me. And I know that she won't refuse. "We're going to be leaving this place soon, and taking her with us."

"Huh? Taking who with us?" Sometimes, it seems like Suigetsu gets dumber by the day. "We've already got Karin coming along, so what's the big deal?"

I sigh impatiently. "We're taking Itachi's little princess with us. The one sealed and locked up downstairs." And while we get the hell out of here, I'll make sure to get more out of her. She'll probably be more willing to answer to an interrogation if I get her some fresh air. Hell, if she's as chatty as she used to be, there'll be very few questions required.

"Whoa, you mean the jinchuuriki chick?" You would think that I'd just told Suigetsu that we were taking a pet monster for a walk. "Are you sure that's safe? I mean, considering what happened the last time we were all in there…"

"It'll be fine. Her goals are aligned with mine." Her end goal, if not her methods. At least for the time being. "Besides, this way, there's no need to figure out how to use a Tailed Beast weapon, when we have her carrying one instead."

"Well, yeah, you have a point, but why does it have to be that freak?" Karin reminds me of all the annoying girls that followed me around at the academy, chattering incessantly and never giving me a moment to myself. "She's not even pretty! What do you see in her?" Obviously, everything that she doesn't.

"Power." And that's all there needs to be. Besides, she's been locked in a dungeon for over a week. I imagine that she'd look better after having a shower, some food, and a week of sleep. Though all of that will have to wait until we're clear of the Akatsuki. "Now stop talking and start working on a way to counteract that rain. I want to be out of here as soon as possible. I can handle the rest of the seals, but once we have her, we have to move fast." The longer we delay, the higher our chances of getting caught. And if we get caught, then Ciara will expect me to fulfill her request. The one I wish she'd never made.

While the idiot pair start to bicker over how to go about dealing with the rain, Jugo stares at me, like he's trying to stare into my soul. I hate that feeling, that place is private, and I don't like having people trying to get in there. "Sasuke, what is it that you're not telling us? Why are we in such a hurry?"

I barely contain a glare as I turn my gaze on him. "Because if we take more than a couple of days, she'll die. The Akatsuki's sealing ritual will kill her when they take out the demon." Or I will, before they get the chance.

"Hold up!" Suigetsu finally takes his attention off Karin, brandishing his sword to keep her off of him. "You never said that we were working on that kind of deadline!"

"And now you know." Not that it changes anything. "So stop fooling around and get to work. I want us out of here by sunset tomorrow." Hopefully, that will be enough time to grab her and go before they decide to go ahead with the sealing.

* * *

Tsunade's P.O.V.

I've never worked so long a night in my life. I need sake, but Shizune, damn her, has gone and locked all of it up while I'm stuck in this dingy little office, going over the basics of espionage and rooting out what might very well be treason.

Some days, I really hate my job. Damn Jiraiya for convincing me to take it! If he doesn't come back, I'm going to kill him.

"I assume that you have some idea as to what we're looking for?" These are smart men, I doubt that I'll need to repeat myself.

"Yes…but it's not going to be easy to find." Shikaku crosses his arms as he leans back against the wall. "If Danzo really is the culprit, then he'll have made sure to hide his tracks. The man's cautious."

More like paranoid, but he might very well have good reason to be. "In any case, I want this mission kept top secret. Only select people outside of this room are allowed to know of this meeting. If you would like to add anyone to the short list for consideration on this project, do so now."

After a moment of silence, Ibiki nods solemnly. "I'd like to recommend Akito Takara."

 _Why does it not surprise me to hear his name come up?_ "And your reasons?" As if I couldn't guess them already. It's because of whose library he has access to and where his loyalties lie.

"His relationship with the lady will give us access to her family's personal archives, the oldest collection to date. There's value in having that kind of intelligence." He definitely has a point, though I'm sure that he could come up with a laundry list of other reasons for suggesting to add Akito to this project. First and foremost, his motivation, and the guarantee that he'll keep all of the information secret, no matter who tries to coerce it out of him.

It's amusing, actually, to see how the youngsters seem more loyal to each other than they are to authority figures. Though, considering that there are figures like Danzo lurking about, I can hardly blame them.

Inoichi shakes his head. "That's true, but it would be a violation of basic clan protocol to enter another clan's library without explicit permission from their head or proxy."

But when you're dealing with a clan that barely exists anymore, it seems that the line becomes rather…fuzzy. Fuzzy lines are arguably the most irritating part of clan politics. Especially when I'm fully aware that, were she here, the one with the authority to make the call would certainly be willing to help us. And perhaps…Akito knows that. "Ibiki, talk to Akito. Inoichi, Shikaku, I want you to comb through all of the records and find me any intelligence gathered on the Shiryugu, and what interest or hatred Danzo might have for them. Am I understood?"

"Perfectly." Ibiki straightens his gloves, an almost…eager expression on his usually stoic face. "It has been some time since I looked into anything regarding Ryouta's family. The last time I did, it was quite the illuminating experience."

Shikaku chuckles quietly. "Yeah, you never could accuse them of being boring, that's for sure. Though they kept some of their secrets locked up pretty tight. Are you sure that you're up to it, Ibiki? Shina got lost in the mysteries of that place for a long time."

"I think so. I have a few notions about the size of their library." Though Shikaku's eyes tell me that he doesn't believe Ibiki in the slightest.

"In any case, find out what you can from Akito. I'll go through the rosters and pick out anyone else that I think can be an asset." Including Shikamaru. It would be a waste not to put his keen eye to work here. And with the teams out searching and making a quiet ruckus, we should have plenty of privacy in which to conduct these investigations. Because I've never liked or trusted that old geezer, and I'm not about to start doubting my instincts now.

"Shikaku, have your son report to me first thing in the morning. And make sure that he keeps this from Naruto for now. I know that this involves his best friend, but the last thing we need now is an accidental intelligence leak, or for him to become even more frantic." Either of which is possible, considering Naruto's current emotional state and his habit of having an annoyingly loud mouth.

Besides, the last thing he needs is something else to worry about now.

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

Something isn't right. Most of the Akatsuki should still be in recovery from the chakra they used during the sealing ritual. They're down to half their numbers, if my information's right, which means that they'd all need to put out twice as much energy to perform a sealing jutsu.

So why does it feel like this tower is shaking?

"Sasuke!" The door bursts open, revealing Suigetsu. "The rain's stopped and there a fight going on downstairs. If we're getting out of here, we need to go, now!"

The plans are moving up, then. "Alright. Jugo, with me. Suigetsu, take Karin and go to the bottom floor. There's canals that should provide cover for us as we leave." It would have helped to have a little more time to research the seals still intact down there, but if there's a battle going on, then it should provide a distraction while we break her out of there. I'll just have to remove the seals one by one, and by force if necessary.

"Alright, fine, just grab your girlfriend fast and let's go." Suigetsu mutters a few extra little profanities under his breath, thinking that I can't hear them. That, or he just doesn't care. I certainly don't.

Ignoring Suigetsu, I get to my feet and shoot a glance at Jugo. "I'll need you to carry her." He's still the strongest on our team, even if he's been shrunken down after our last battle. And after being locked down there for this long, I doubt she'll be in any shape to run, at least in the next few hours.

"Got it." He steps quietly behind me and closes the door without a sound. He's quiet for several long minutes as we weave our way downstairs, pausing every so often as the tower shakes again. "Who is she…to you?"

It figures that Jugo would be the one to ask that question. "No one that you need to worry about." Not here, and not now.

He nods solemnly. "If you say so." Thankfully, Jugo is capable of keeping his curiosity to himself. If he'd asked that question in front of Suigetsu right now, or worse, Suigetsu asked himself, he would be shooting me looks and questions about it all day. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Suigetsu doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut.

"Hn." I focus my gaze straight ahead, to where the corridor narrows and the cells are hidden away. I've been down here more times than I care to count, not always to ask questions, but sometimes just to watch, to check in and make sure that she's still breathing, at least. There's no point to this plan if she dies in there, after all. "Alright, let's remove the rest of the seals and get out of here." If we can be out of here and leaving the village in fifteen minutes, I'll be satisfied.

I place my hand on the door, opening the entry seal, like I've done several times before. It breaks easily and the door swings open. Part of me half expected Madara to be on to us by now, but she's still there, her arms hanging limply from the chains holding them up, half kneeling and half sitting on the floor. She doesn't move, which means she's probably not conscious.

First things first…I draw my sword out silently, flipping it over in my hand and tapping the end of the blade against the metal shackles. It's solid, but…

With a flash of bright lightning, I bring the sword down on the first shackle, cutting it lengthwise and close to her wrist without touching her skin. It shatters and falls to the floor with an unnecessarily loud clang. Ordinarily, I would expect to be heard down here, but I doubt that anyone in this tower can hear anything over the sounds of the battle taking place somewhere above us.

Her arm falls to her side as I target the second shackle, removing it from around her other hand as she slumps against the floor. Now, if I remember correctly, which of course I do, then the few seals left on her skin should be removable with a series of intense chakra spikes. It's the crude method, without a talent for sealing jutsu involved, but I need to remove at least half of them before we leave. "Jugo, watch the door." I'd rather not have any surprises right now.

"Right." He steps back, standing in the doorway as I press my hands to her skin.

I channel chakra into my fingertips, keeping the concentration low, but sharp as my eyes see into the chakra invading her skin. The color is off, there's traces of several other chakras inside her. So, I press my own against those spots, trying to drive the foreign chakra out. That's what the books suggested, anyway. It sounds like medical ninjutsu, but less delicate.

She stirs slightly as a few of the pools of foreign chakra slowly dissipate, but still doesn't wake up. Not that I expected her to. "Jugo."

"Ten minutes." He returns to my side, bending down to pick her up. "Was that enough time?"

"It'll have to be." If the rain is gone and there's a battle outside, then there's no better time than now to disappear. "Let's meet Suigetsu and Karin. We'll head south, then decide where to go from there once we're clear of the city." I've thought of a few places we could go, but if there's anything that's clear, it's that she'll want to return to the Leaf as soon as she wakes up. _After all, that's where Naruto is._ My lips pull back into a sneer at the thought. Because I remember what it was like back then, even if I don't like to. Whenever she needed help, it was Naruto she'd run to, whether it was something simple, or a battle. Always damn Naruto…

 _But Naruto isn't here to help now, is he?_


	38. A Demon of Philosophy

**Wow…this chapter took forever to write. You know that time of the semester when your teachers all want something due every other day, and it all just piles up? Yeah, I'm buried under that homework mountain right now. And I'm ever so slowly digging my way out of it. Though, considering that I have 4 things due tomorrow, that should take quite the chunk out of my mountain. (Though that still leaves me with four final papers, two posters, two presentations, two lab write-ups, and an exam to study for).**

 **So anyway, thanks to the guest who so enthusiastically enjoyed the end of the last chapter, I worked really hard on it. It's so hard to make Sasuke sound jealous without making him sound OOC. Because…you know, you can't make him too mushy, but if you make him too cold, it cancels out. It's a real balancing act. And it's slowly going to escalate from there. With some pushing and prodding from everyone's favorite philosophical birdy (who gets quite chatty when he feels like it, so be ready for that, because he's going to finally be making more of an appearance this chapter). Sasuke's opinion of him is going to bounce back and forth, and an imagined Chidori may or may not be involved.**

 **Also, Sasuke was wrong on one part. She's not Itachi's princess. She's Itachi's little dragon. :)P**

 **As for the Edo Tensei… Jiraiya is an interesting idea. I never really bought that Kabuto could never find any of Jiraiya's DNA, I mean, the guy probably left it lying around EVERYWHERE. Plus…Jiraiya vs. Orochimaru, that's happened. And he got his arm cut off by Pain, so… Alright, I'll consider that.**

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

Something's…moving. I can feel it moving underneath me. _But what…?_

 _Chick, be calm._ A familiar, soft warmth washes over me. _You are no longer within the grasp of the Akatsuki. The Uchiha and his friends have spirited you away from that place._

 _They…they did it?_ But I didn't think that it would be that easy. _They just…let us walk out of there?_

 _No, it appears that there was a battle, and the Uchiha used it as a distraction in order to move his team out. They have been traveling through the city's canals now that the rain has stopped. I believe that they are traveling south._

It's not that I doubt Sasuke's ability to get things done. Not at all. It's just that this shouldn't be possible. There's no way that the Akatsuki would let them leave with me so easily. I should be dead now, or having Suzaku ripped out of me. Not…this.

 _Wait, south?_ That reminds me that I have no idea where we are right now. _Where…?_

 _The Hidden Rain Village. It appears that after capturing you, they retreated to their headquarters in order to perform the extraction. Fortunately, they were not able to proceed with their plans._

Not to the fullest, anyway. But I know very well that Utakata is dead. _…I guess…I go back to the Leaf, now._ Or at least, once I recover. _Naruto is probably turning the whole Land of Fire upside down, looking for me._ Or trying to. Though I hope that Tsunade wouldn't send him out like that. Having one of us captured is bad enough, but if they'd gotten Naruto as well…

 _Chick…_ The darkness around me swirls with color, brightening as a clear mountain lake blossoms to life. The wind feels so real, and the grass beneath my feet rustles just like the real thing. "Do not worry for Naruto. I am sure that he is safe. He has friends there to look after him, after all."

"Yes, I know." I approach the lake, sitting on its shore. "But they're not me, and I won't feel that he's safe until I'm there with him." It's something that I have to ascertain with my own eyes, my own hands. Hearsay won't cut it.

"Come, Chick." Suzaku spreads out one of his wings, opening and curling it to let me in. "Your chakra has been strained to its limits in order to keep the seal functioning and your body from failing. Your mind requires rest. I will keep watch while you recover your strength."

That sounds…nice. "Okay." I walk across the water, not even a ripple forming under my feet. "Will you watch over him as well?"

"Of course, my little one." The feathers curl around me, wrapping me in a blanket of warmth against his side. "Now rest. I will wake you when the time comes."

"Yeah…" For now, I just need to sleep. "Thanks."

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

So far, so good. No one is following us, and we've left the battle far behind us. Whoever decided to walk into the Akatsuki's headquarters and start a fight may be suicidal, but for now, it's convenient. "Karin, do another check."

"Yeah…alright." She's been in a bad mood ever since I showed up with Jugo carrying Ciara. It's almost frightening how tangible her jealousy is. And unattractive. And definitely annoying. "The coast is still clear, there's no other chakra signatures anywhere near us."

"Good." And as long as we leave no tracks, it should stay that way. "Jugo, how is she doing?"

He glances down at the still form in his arms, opening up the cloak wrapped around her and scrutinizing her for a few seconds. "Still unconscious, and she's been bruised up pretty bad."

I'm sure that she was more than bruised up, but it seems that her most serious injuries have been treated. Which is good, because we don't have time to stop at a hospital and risk being seen. Alright, we'll keep going for another few hours, then find a concealed spot for making camp." There's no point in hiding out in the open where we could be easily found. "We'll work on two hour watch shifts. Suigetsu, you take first watch, then Karin, then me, then Jugo."

"Hey, what about Sleeping Beauty over there?" I don't like the way Suigetsu glares at her. Of course, that's on top of him making a fool of himself, again. "Why are we the ones pulling her weight?"

I would have thought it was obvious. "She's in no condition to be on watch." After all, back as far as after we graduated from the academy, she always seemed to sleep more to compensate for whatever chakra she used to heal her own injuries, or the chakra she used in battle. I doubt that's changed recently. "If she's out all night, she might be able to wake up in the morning."

A slow exhalation draws my attention, and Jugo shifts suddenly, planting his feet firmly on the ground as he shifts her in his arms. "Uh, Sasuke? I don't think she's going to be asleep much longer."

 _But I saw her chakra levels, she shouldn't be waking up for a few hours, at least. She'll be lucky if she doesn't need to be carried tomorrow as well._ "Are you sure?" I turn my Sharingan on her just in time to see a swirling of red pulse throughout her body. That's definitely chakra.

"Yes." There's no need for him to answer, since that comes straight from her as she pushes herself out of Jugo's arms and stumbles over the hem of the cloak. She's likely still half asleep. It's strange, it's been a long time since I've seen her so weak and unbalanced. Then again, it's been a long time anyway, not counting the fuzzy glimpse I got of her when she tried to bring Itachi back.

I wonder what she'll look like when she's cleaned up.

Suigetsu shifts warily as he reaches for his sword. "How are you even awake after all that? Sasuke just said that you'd be out all night."

"She is." The voice that comes from her makes me stop and focus right on her. Him? It? It's…her voice, but thicker, deeper, but higher and lighter at the same time. It's raspy and rich…like it's her voice, but another overlapping with hers. _No…it's not her's…_ "You've done well in saving the child, Uchiha. I thank you." That settles it. Ciara never calls me by my last name. This definitely isn't her. And that's definitely not HER chakra.

She…it? She gets to her feet and slowly turns around, lowering the hood that concealed dark, messy brown hair to reveal fiery eyes and scarlet feathery markings all over her dirtied face. "But you're correct, the child still sleeps. She does not have the chakra required to heal and move her damaged body, therefore she remains asleep in our shared subconscious."

"What the hell!?" Suigetsu unclips his sword and swings it around, not fazing this person in the slightest. "What are you talking about?"

Karin takes a couple of steps back, her eyes going wide. "What…are you? There's no way…you're not human…"

"You are correct, young one. And the body in which I dwell could be argued as human or something far beyond that. But the answers to your questions, both spoken and left unspoken, are largely the same." There's a look in those eyes that I haven't seen before, an expression of experience and wisdom that I've certainly never seen Ciara make. "So long as you are aiding and protecting this Chick, I am your ally. Cross her, and you will learn why it is that I am called a demon, however limiting the term may be."

It's almost amusing to see Karin and Suigetsu taking very hasty steps back. I, however, take one towards her. Him? I think in this case, I'm speaking to a male demon. It's hard to tell between its voice and hers, and the old-fashioned manner of speech. "So, you're the Ten-Tails, then?"

He nods slowly. "I am, and I am not. I am the Tailed Beast, as you call us, possessing of ten tails. However…there is more to the story than I have time to tell you now. I have more pressing matters to attend to, and I believe that these should be done while moving, to reduce the risk of being recaptured."

I narrow my eyes at him. "You're not going to answer my questions if I ask them?" _What does he mean by more to the story?_

"I will, but not the ones that pertain to that particular story." He reaches back into the medical kit that I had Jugo attach to her waist before we left. "For now, I must restore her body. She is severely dehydrated, and has not had food in more than a week. Whatever other concerns you may have will have to wait, for now." He makes a few seals and presses a single hand to an open scroll. A large canteen of water and a bag of what I think is dried meat appear over two of the transportation circles. He rolls the scroll back up, stashes it away, and picks up the canteen and bag of food. "Now, let us continue to flee this place."

"Are you sure?" Jugo shifts nervously. "You…she is pretty badly injured. Is it safe for you to be moving around?"

"Jugo, it's fine. Let's keep moving." I don't know whether he wants me to trust him, which I don't, but for the sake of practicality, I doubt the demon would have suggested moving again if he was incapable of doing that in her body. "Just make sure not to fall behind."

A hint of a smirk turns up the corner of red lips. "Of course, Uchiha. Be sure to keep up, there's quite a distance between here and the Land of Rivers."

 _He heard that?_ I'd thought that Ciara was completely unconscious, demon included, but it looks like that's not the case. "…Who are you?"

The slight smirk softens as he turns those burning eyes fully on me. "You may call me Suzaku." Then, he turns away from me and towards the south, where this territory shares a border with the Land of Rivers.

I take off right behind him, keeping pace easier than Suigetsu, who stops to put his sword away. "The hell!? Wait up a second!" He takes about half a minute to catch up, sword back in place. "Aren't you supposed to be injured?"

"Her body is injured, yes, however I am working to heal those injuries now. And I am able to work past the current failings of her body, while she is not." _That's…interesting. So even if she can't fight, he could do it in her place._ Now I'm even more convinced that rescuing her was the right call. As long as rescuing this demon as well doesn't backfire on us.

Not to mention the fact that even in an injured body and focused on emptying both the canteen and the bag, this demon seems to be able to keep up a mission pace. Still, it's disconcerting to not be able to see or feel the familiar white chakra that my Sharingan should be picking up.

A soft chuckle echoes through the air, and it takes a second to place it as coming from him, again. "Why are you laughing?"

He glances back at me, amusement dancing in the fiery eyes. "You are searching for the Chick's chakra. You will not find it for now. I am concealing her within the depths of my own chakra for the moment. She requires time to rest and recover. But there's no need to worry. When she is able to speak with you again, I will allow you to see her and return to my sanctuary within her mind."

"You can heal her, then?" Jugo approaches from the left side, uncertainty showing in his expression.

Without saying a word, a tanned arm is held out, showing the bruises left on her wrists from her time in the dungeon. The dark purple marks start to lighten and fade, disappearing as though they were never there to begin with. It's just like how Naruto heals. Just without the annoyance of it being when I'm trying to make him stay away from me.

Jugo watches consideringly. "That's incredible, it's like Karin's healing ability."

"Hmph. Showoff." Karin has a sour look on her face, but I don't care if she feels like her position is being threatened. There are reasons that each person is here. And she should try not to forget that. "You don't even have as much chakra as I thought you would."

Another chuckle floats back to us. "Then that means that the suppression is working. My chakra reserves are vast and difficult to conceal without her chakra to mask mine, but I thought for the sake of not creating a pillar of fire and light as a beacon to draw all eyes within a hundred miles toward us, that it would be prudent to leak only tiny drops of my chakra into the Chick's body in order to heal her. The amount you are sensing now is negligible."

I thought as much, and Karin really should know better, considering that the last jinchuuriki we came across nearly killed us all. "Enough, Karin. There's no time to be arguing. Have you forgotten what happened last time?" The last time we came face to face with a jinchuuriki, I had to coat him in the flames of Amaterasu to bring him down. So I know that there's a lot of power hidden away inside of her. The real question is how much, and whether or not she'll use it to help me bring down the Leaf's elders.

Before Karin can do more than shoot the demon a glare, a voice I don't recognize accompanies a shadow, one that doesn't look at all human. "Hey! Wait up!"

Suzaku looks around, ears twitching towards the source of the sound. "Gamakichi?"

My hand is already on my sword as I spot a giant red…toad? Naruto… If there's a toad around, then that means that he must be close by.

The toad lands right in front of us, staring down the cloaked demon. "Yo, you're alright! You know, there's people worried about ya. Apparently ya went missing, and the Leaf is turning the whole Land of Fire and every small nation around it upside down to look for you."

Just what we needed… If the Leaf finds us now, I'm sure that there'll be more pleas for me to go back to that place. I'm already going to have to deal with it when she finally wakes up, but if I have to deal with it from Naruto as well, I think that this time, I'm really going to kill him.

"A toad?" Suigetsu raises an eyebrow. "And I thought that Orochimaru's snakes were weird."

"Gamakichi, listen very carefully." Suzaku lowers his, their voice, speaking softly. "The child is asleep right now. She was gravely injured when she fought and was captured by the Akatsuki. The one known as Kisame did particularly grievous damage. Tell me, is Naruto here searching for her, or is it the sage?"

The toad hesitates a moment, then nods slowly. "Old Man Jiraiya is in the Hidden Rain looking for her. He said that I should stay here until he sent her my way."

"I see." The demon sounds almost…tired.

Still, for us, that's a good thing. Naruto may be pursuing me, but I doubt that the Sannin has time to be coming after us. And if he left the toad out here, then it means that he has other business to keep him occupied. _He might be the one making all of that noise back in the village._

"Understood." A tan arm reaches out towards the large toad. "Shrink down and hop on. The six of us are vacating this area, and if Jiraiya sent you to keep an eye on the child, then it is best that you come with us until you are satisfied that she is out of harm's way."

"Alright, sure!" And before our eyes, the toad shrinks down to the size of a puppy, leaping onto Ciara's shoulder and hiding in the long cloak. "Then let's get outta here before those Akatsuki come chasing us."

The demon nods, taking off again in a flash, barely a shadow in the trees as I take a flying leap to catch up. "Hn." I can feel a smirk coming on. _I guess this demon doesn't like wasting time either._ Not that he seems to be too hasty, but this pace suits me just fine.

It's not difficult to catch up, but as the rest of Taka lags behind, the demon glances back, slowing the pace slightly. "Well, Uchiha? You said that you had questions. So long as they do not greatly invade the Chick's privacy, or delve into secrets better left untouched, I will answer what I can."

I'm not thrilled about the restrictions, but at least I can work with them. "What are you, exactly?" Outside the obvious giant mass of semi-sentient chakra, of course.

There's a long moment of silence, but I know when he moves to answer my question. "That is…difficult to explain. I was once one entity among many, a part of a whole, without a consciousness of my own. Now, I am one of many, many separate parts, of which I am only a single personality. These entities, parts, personalities, are what you humans call the Tailed Beasts. More specifically, I am a monumental bird of wind and flame, of the rising and the setting sun, a guardian of warmth and light who does not embody the bitter hatred that so many of my fellows hold for humanity and their abuse of our kind."

He hums quietly, fusing his voice with hers for a moment. "And on the matter of personal affairs, I am he who cares for this little dragon, not yet quite mature, but on the cusp of adulthood. A push, a prod, a spark, that is all that is truly needed for this last dragon to come into her own. And I am proud to be the one bonded to the distant offspring of some of my greatest friends."

I frown at his words. _She's said that before…_ Back when we were younger, she used to call herself a dragon, and said that she wasn't fully grown yet. "What exactly do you mean by a dragon?" It's in her last name, but the way he says it, it's as though he means it in a literal sense.

A soft chuckle has him shaking his, her, head. "That is for the Chick to explain to you, if she wishes it. Do not push her, for I imagine that she will tell you in due time. You are far from the first Uchiha to be beloved by a dragon."

And there is it again, that mention of my family when hers is brought up. "And what do you mean by that?" _Is he referring to Itachi?_

There's another drawn out silence, and for a minute, I wonder if he's going to answer at all. "Uchiha…I have watched the clans of the Leaf since its founding, and the dragons for much longer than that. Many from the clans found peace and love within the clan of dragons, protection, family, and a sense of purpose that some otherwise lacked. The dragons thrived on that love, as they have always done, as the Chick does from her fellow jinchuuriki, and from her team. I lived many long centuries amongst that love, and very rarely did I see that love turn to righteous fury. And very rarely did I see it turn to fathomless despair."

He takes a breath and looks back at me, watching me for a moment with piercing, calculating eyes. But also…with sympathy. And…approval? Or maybe a challenge. "In my observations of the Uchiha, I long ago came to the realization that your lineage loves and hates with equal passion, though greatly restrained in recent decades. In becoming the most talented and intelligent of shinobi, you have suppressed your emotions until they become convenient, as fuel for battle, drawing on the latter for power and neglecting the former. Surely you have seen and experienced the same for yourself and those around you?"

"Hn." If he has been observing the Uchiha, then there's no need for him to ask. Of course I've seen it. It's what Itachi had done since we were children. He was warm at first, but slowly became distant, cold, his smiles became fake, and I never noticed. The brother who once showed affection so openly rarely showed it outside of the occasional poke to the forehead.

His eyes soften, creasing around the sides, the smile lines apparent. "The Uchiha found themselves constrained by expectations of them, of shinobi. But within the home of the dragons, such things were cast aside. All that mattered was love and loyalty to family, a shared sense of right and wrong, and a preference for peace, rather than war. I saw your brother many times with the other one, Shisui. In that sanctuary, their masks were wiped away, and they could be free to feel again. It was proven time and time again that even the stoic demeanor of the Uchiha could not remain in place when surrounded by the warmth of the Shiryugu. Itachi, Shisui, Kiyoshi, Masumi, and Akane Uchiha, all were drawn into the lair of the dragons, a place that guards against even the coldest winter of the heart."

That sounds nice, but I don't need nice, I need the access and power to make the people who destroyed my brother suffer. "What's your point?"

He sighs, disappointment clear on his face before he looks on ahead. "My point, young Uchiha, is that those who allow themselves to see a dragon, to hear a dragon, to feel a dragon's warmth, will find peace and happiness beyond that which they thought possible. Even the Uchiha. In fact…I would say especially the Uchiha."

If this is his way of trying to have me return to the Leaf, he's wasting his breath. "If you think that bedtime stories about love and dragons will change anything, you're wrong."

He pushes off a tree branch particularly hard, not even looking back at me. "Trust this little dragon, Uchiha, and try to appreciate just how much she cares about your well-being. Your life will be all the better for it. Your brother knew as much, and I'm certain that leaving the Chick by herself pained him. I saw him through her eyes each time the two of them came face to face after he disappeared. And though he may have been blind, I hope, for his sake, that he heard her voice and saw her face one last time before he passed. She loved him dearly, she loves many people dearly and holds them deep within her heart. And though you left, you are still one of them. She will trust you as she did him. Do not betray that." His eyes glow and the wind whips her hair from her face, baring the glowing red markings in all their glory along her forehead and along the curves of her cheekbones. "Or else the girl's prayers for your well-being may just be for naught."

My eyes narrow at the blatant threat. "I have my goals and I'll make them clear to her." I never planned on lying to her in the first place. I don't need to. "I want her power…your power, to make sure that certain people are punished for what they've done."

Something flickers in his gaze, and he nods. "Yes, on that, we agree, though our reasons are certainly different. But it is something that can be discussed later, when she awakens. In the meantime, I suggest that you think on why it is that I have told you these things, and what they might mean for your past, your present, and most importantly, your future. I do not tell the secrets of others without due cause. Today, I have put faith in you. See that it is not misplaced."

"Hn." He's very demanding for a bird locked in a cage. Not that it matters as much as he thinks it does. Clearly, he has an influence over Ciara's thoughts and decisions, but it's her cooperation that I'm interested in. This demon is the one along for the ride.

But…it's almost funny, actually. Here I am, hoping that she'll wake up soon so that I don't have to listen to this old bird's philosophy lesson. Itachi might have enjoyed it, but if I wanted philosophy, I would find a shrine and a priest.

Ahead, Suzaku chuckles, and the sound grates on my nerves as my fingers twitch. He knows what I'm thinking… Then, he starts conversing lightly, and thankfully quietly with that little toad, taking his acute focus off of me.

We'd better reach the Land of Rivers soon, or I'm going to risk hurting her by hitting HIM with a Chidori.


	39. The Night I Remember

**Warning: Long Author's Note**

 **For those of you reading and inevitably thinking that I forgot something rather important… Yes, I realize that I did not include "Tobi" last chapter. That was on purpose. Does he know that Sasuke took his prisoner and ran? …I think that the answer to that is obvious.**

 **Yes, he's coming, I'm just trying to time it right. After all, I want some fluff before shit starts hitting the fan again. Which it will, duh. But he's so convinced that everything is going to work out in his favor in the end anyway, that a minor setback like this is nothing more than an inconvenience at most. Or even a convenience, since all of the frantic searching will die down, making it easier for the Akatsuki to move, while at the same time plunging the nations into a state of paranoia.**

 **By the way, yes, the gender bouncing back and forth is on purpose (I'm sure that one of you lurkers noticed that as well). It's really hard dealing with talking to a male in a female body while there is also a female hiding away in said body (because both the body and mind are originally female, there is a distinctly male entity also inhabiting the body, and…that gets complicated). Therefore, Suzaku's thoughts and gestures are construed as being the male persona, while the female body is being referred to in the physical, save for the eyes, which are his to begin with (or a manifestation of his, anyway). And since this is done from Sasuke's P.O.V., he's having a hard time separating the two. He's seeing her, but hearing him.**

 **Ah…the gender swapping/combining/expressing…let's say fluidity (does that work with what basically amounts to multiple personality disorder?) is so much easier to do from her P.O.V.…which we will see again next chapter.**

 **So, adding in a new P.O.V. this chapter for flashback purposes. Hope you like it.**

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

It's been ten minutes since we passed the collapsed Akatsuki hideout, and from what I learned in my hunt for Itachi, there should be cliffs somewhere near here. Off to the west, if that map was right. And where there are cliffs, there are caves. Right now, I want us out of sight as quickly as possible. It's been most of a day since we left, and the Akatsuki are sure to have realized that we abducted their prisoner and escaped with her. "Jugo, what do you have for me?" Once we have the report, our break is over, and it'll be time to move on.

I glance sideways at him as a bird lands on his shoulder. He listens to it chirp away for half a minute, before turning to meet my gaze. "You were right. There's cliffs just to the southwest of us. It's a nesting wall with lots of caves with narrow entrances."

"Good." We'll be further concealed from sight that way. "Then that's where we'll go."

Suigetsu groans behind me. "Seriously? We're hiding out in a cave?"

"Be quiet, Suigetsu." I have no time and no patience for his complaining.

"Suigetsu." Jugo's chiding tends to be softer than mine, and more patient, not to mention involving less lightning. "We're traveling with someone that we abducted from the Akatsuki. We need to stay hidden, or they'll find us."

"All the more reason that we should have just left the dirty freak behind to rot in that cell." Karin's high-pitched shriek is the last thing heard before a dense, heavy aura of anger settles over us. And this time, I know for certain that it isn't mine.

Rage-filled sunburst eyes turn on Karin, pinning her in place. "…Say such a thing concerning my Chick again, and you will wish you hadn't, Human." In those eyes is a wealth of knowledge, of history, a gaze that knows how to punish someone thoroughly for an insult like that.

Karin starts to shake under the weight of the oppressive chakra filling the air. "Y-yes, Sir." Her knees buckle as she sinks to the ground, her eyes growing wide behind her glasses. "I-I'm sorry."

Slowly, the demon nods Ciara's head, and the oppressive chakra in the air recedes like the tide. "Know this, young one…jealousy is not nearly as attractive a trait in your species as many of you seem to believe. You would do well to cleanse your soul of it, for I have seen it lead to the ruin of many in my time. To be protective of those you care for is an admirable trait, however, do not allow it to be clouded by desire, else you may find yourself unable to protect that which you hold most dear."

"What…?" Her shaking slows to a stop, shock apparent in her eyes. "But…"

"Are we done here?" I cut in before Karin has a chance to set this old demon off on another of his philosophical ramblings. As if even half of them make sense… "I want to be in the caves within the next thirty minutes." The sooner we get there, the sooner I can tell this demon to just go to sleep. The next time I see Ciara's body awake, I want her to be the one controlling it.

For some reason, those sunburst eyes turn on me, glittering with amusement. "Yes, I believe that you and your companions have been thoroughly educated today."

"Good, then let's go." I take off towards the southeast, my eyes searching above the tree line for the cliff-side caves. And in only half a second, I can hear the almost silent thump of Ciara's footsteps against the ground.

Minutes later, the demon's eyes start tracking a spot on the sheer cliffs before us. "Uchiha. Fifteen degrees to the left, one hundred feet up."

I cast my eyes up the cliff, my Sharingan showing me the fissure in the rock, almost hidden entirely from sight. "Hn." He has good eyes, I'll give him that.

He smirks out of the corner of my eye. "You know, I did always wonder why you Uchiha vary so much in your use of language. Too many use an ineloquent, monosyllabic sound to denote everything from satisfaction to frustration, to displeasure, while some are perfectly articulate. Would you explain this phenomenon to me?"

My eyes narrow as I shoot him an annoyed glare.

That same deep, two-toned chuckle wafts through the air. "Ah, yes, I believe that my Chick and that fox's Kit once discussed this topic. She had decided that you were simply closing yourself off because your heart was hurting. He, on the other hand, seemed to believe…" He tilts her head a little. "Ah yes, it was "it's like the Bastard is constipated, all his emotions are stuffed up and he can't get them out no matter how hard he pushes', I believe."

 _The kit…?_ It must be Naruto, it has to be. The only fox I can think of is that giant one I saw a year ago in Naruto's head. The one who said I resembled Madara Uchiha. "Because I'm not soft and kind and naive like them?" I couldn't be if I wanted to avenge my clan. Soft-hearted emotions are a weakness that I stamped out long ago.

A soft humming replaces the chuckles. "Be careful, Uchiha. Impaling oneself on one's own sword is not nearly as attractive a prospect as you might think. And the Chick would be heartbroken if your stubborn nature were to bring about your end."

"I won't die so easily." I haven't yet, and I have no plans to. _Not until all of the people who made Itachi suffer are dead at my feet._

* * *

It feels like it takes an eternity to reach the cave halfway up the cliff wall, and that aura of wisdom around Ciara's body, courtesy of that demon of hers, has been grating on my nerves for too long.

"Finally!" Suigetsu squeezes in after Karin to check out the cave. "Listening to you two have your passive aggressive argument all the way here was giving me an ear-ache."

And I'm sure that I could make a lot more than his ear ache if he doesn't shut up. I've already had more than my fill of conversation with the demon we abducted. "Be quiet, Suigetsu."

"Jeez, Sasuke, what crawled up your ass and died?" Suigetsu tosses his pack against the nearest wall and unstraps his sword from his back, laying it across his lap as he sits down.

"Hn." I'll shove my sword up his ass if he keeps harping. "Jugo, Karin, is the area secure?" We'll be here a couple of days, and I'd rather not take a chance on being spotted by the Akatsuki or by the Leaf. There's no doubt that they'll be looking for her. After all, if they're so willing to expend resources trying to find me and bring me back, then she'll definitely be a higher priority.

Karin nods slowly. "It's all clear, I don't sense anyone but us in the area."

A few tiny birds chirp sharply as they sit on Jugo's shoulders. "It doesn't look like anyone has been here for a while. We should be safe.

"Good." I glance at her, noting his eyes taking in the cave as he sets down most of her gear, opening it and perusing the contents of the storage scrolls. I almost want to sneer. _After all, they wouldn't want to lose one of their precious jinchuuriki._

Sunburst eyes fall on me, an eyebrow rising as he shoots me a look of vague amusement. "Is there something that you wish to say, Uchiha?"

I narrow my eyes slightly. "No."

But that just sets off a soft, almost silent round of chuckling from the bird. "Very well. I simply assumed that you would have a few last questions before I join my Chick in her rest. Her body requires time to recover, and this journey has not been easy, despite my efforts to make it so."

My Sharingan activates as I look over her body one more time. Her chakra is there, I can see it now, but it's just barely a flicker. It's just like he said, like she's sleeping. But if he's going to sleep now, then there's just one more thing I want to know. "How is it that you ended up sealed inside her?"

His gaze softens and…saddens. "…Most jinchuuriki are born of the human desire to control powers beyond their ability to control. Their lives, their futures, their happiness are sacrificed for the sake of imprisoning my kin. That is the most common reason for which a jinchuuriki is born. To maintain the balance of power, to be used as a weapon when the influential see fit to strike heavy blows against their enemies. Does that sound at all familiar, Uchiha?"

It does, and it lights a white-hot fury in my blood. "Like the Leaf did to Itachi." They turned my brother into a weapon to use against the Uchiha and forced him to murder his own family. Every. Last. One. "…Who did this to her? Was it Danzo? Or the Third Hokage?" Those two would have the authority to force something like that one her, and it makes me want to vomit.

Unexpectedly, his gaze softens and he shakes her head. "Neither. This state may have been forced onto her to some extent, but it was done from a place of love, not hatred. I did say that to be sacrificed that way was a common reason, but it is not the only one. Long ago, this was the only way to save her life."

My fists clench tightly, but I make no other movement, save to watch him spread out a blanket and pillow, summoned from the scroll, and lay his host's body down atop it. "Someone saved her life by sealing a demon inside her?"

"Yes." He smiles, closing his eyes. "It was a mere ten years ago…"

* * *

 _Suzaku's P.O.V._

 _Death. Destruction. Voices crying out in pain, before being abruptly silenced._

 _I fly as hard and fast as I can, leaving trails of burning fire in the sky as I pass through the heavens towards the mountain where my friends have resided since long before my birth. It is the land in the midst of all life, from where life flows, and to where it returns. It is one of the few places in this world still touched by the presence of the Olde Ones, those who came before, and those of whom traces remain._

 _They are a magnificent race of beings, those whom have been born to the blood of the ancients. With spirits made immortal and undying, whose lives return to the earth and nourish the soil, whose descendants yet live and convey that life to the earth. They sustain the fertility of this world, and without them, I am certain that the beauty would wither and the light die, leaving this world a shell of its former self._

 _But perhaps those are simply remnants of the old tales, for humans appear to be flourishing well enough. Though they remain under the watchful eye of those few dragons who remain._

 _A roar pierces the din, shaking the heavens themselves as a column of blinding white light shoots into the sky, before rapidly dimming as the shaking comes to a stop. The shaking of the ground would almost appear as an earthquake, were it not for my sky-born view._

 ** _Lord Ryouta!_**

 _Smaller roars echo the first, before being abruptly silenced. I know those roars well, and the two little females, so proud to have matured from fledglings into dragons._

 ** _No…it cannot be…not the children!_**

 _Faster, I fly, praying to the ancients, the dragons of old, and to my father, he who was a sage like no other. Please, let them live, let their strength hold for as long as it is able!_

 _The scene I come upon…is complete and utter devastation. The scent of blood is thick in the air, and broken bodies litter the holy mountain, some still bearing faint traces of once-living warmth. The buildings stand, and yet, some bear scorch marks, and others the damage of blades and of human ninjutsu. A battle was waged here. No…not a battle._

 _Utter annihilation._

 _A cool numbness clouds my mind as my talons touch the ground, ripping up tracks of soft, bloodied grass beneath my feet. I search blindly for the body of my friend. I see-smell the bodies of intruders, those who should never have set foot into this place. And on their blades, their tools, I smell the blood of innocents. And…the blood of dragons._

 _Amidst the carnage, surrounded by the four bodies of his faithful siblings, lies my friend, son of another friend, and grandson of yet another. So on and so forth, to the time when I was but a young chick, searching for a place that I might call home._

 _"Ryouta…" His body lies almost peaceful, save for the blade protruding from his chest. His spirit must no longer have been in his body at the time of his body's demise. Vulnerable and unmoving, but no longer placing constraints on the spirit of a dragon that dwelt deep within._

 _But his siblings…Eiji, Miko, Yukio, and sweet young Miyako… It would appear that the four of them did their family proud and defended their brother's body to their last breath, as futile as it clearly had been._

 _I raise my talons from the ground, lowering them to the dragon's chest and pulling the blade from his heart. There is no reason to leave his body in such pitiful shape, not those of his brave brothers and sisters who fought by his side and killed many an evil foe, the bodies of their enemies laying strewn about the battlefield._

 _Carefully, I arrange the five of them side by side in as dignified a manner as I can with such large, unwieldy talons. A heavy weight presses on my restless heart. "…Rest in peace, friends. I will keep your memories in my heart every year, century, and millenia that I shall live."_

 _"Lord Suzaku!" A voice appears from the din, belonging to a single survivor of this bloody conflict. Scarlet eyes, and ones that I know well. "Please! Lord Suzaku, I beg your help."_

 _I lower my head to watch the Uchiha, beloved by dragons, approach me. "Are you all that remains, Kiyoshi?"_

 _His face, streaked with blood and tears, presents eyes glowing with the intricate onyx and scarlet pattern of a spinning lotus. "…No, but if nothing is done, my niece will die. Please, I beg you…save her!"_

 _So there is another survivor. "Who yet lives? Tatsuo? Sumire?" One of the dragons, certainly. Both his eldest nieces have matured, and his youngest showed promising signs…_

 _"Ciara, Ryouta's daughter." His eyes turn back towards a small clearing of grass, where a tiny body lies, barely breathing. "She…doesn't have long now. Her injuries are fatal." He coughs, blood running past his lips before he wipes it away. "So please…if you can save her…" His gaze falls on his wife's bloody stomach, a shadow of despair falling over him. "I will give you anything, I will give you my life if it means she will live."_

 _One tiny dragon yet remains, a dying child lying amongst a field of corpses. The dead…I once knew each and every one of them. I love them dearly, and though human, for the most part, I respected them. They proved to be different than the others, focused on peace, love, honor, and protecting that which you hold most dear._

 _I take a step towards the child, her tiny, frail body covered in slowly drying blood. She fights to live, despite the wound running her abdomen through. It appears treated, to an extent, but she will not recover without great intervention. It must be done now, if she is to survive._

 _"Very well." I turn my gaze on him, flapping my wings and setting the sky alight with my flames. "You know the secret sealing rites of the main house?"_

 _His eyes widen in understanding, then closing in regret. "…I do." He kneels by her side, placing his hand upon her stomach and collecting her blood, mixing it with his own as he begins to write symbols around her body. "…You will see to her care when she grows older?"_

 _"I will." My friends may be gone, but this child remains. I have lived a thousand years, and a mere human lifetime is insignificant to the years I will continue to live. If it is the will of the world, then I will watch over her in the years to come. "You have my word."_

 _A melancholic smile touches his lips as he presses his hand to her stomach once more. "Lady Ciara." He shakes her slightly. "Lady Ciara, wake up!"_

 _The child's eyes flutter open weakly. "Uncle…?"_

 _Kiyoshi's relief is palpable, flooding into the air at her response. "Good, I thought I'd lost you as well." He re-examines the wound, shaking his head. "A fatal wound." His prognosis is no better than before. Then, he turns to me. "I ask you once more. Please help me. She must survive."_

 _He asks for a pact, and I will give it to him. "Very well, but she will be marked for the rest of her life." Marked as my jinchuuriki until the day that she dies and we are separated._

 _"I know." Now it is a wry smile. These Uchiha certainly are an interesting lot. Some as silent as the grave, and others as eloquent as poets. Some appear to be unfeeling, and others feel far too much. "Thank you." He presses his hands together, forming the chakra needed for this complex art taught only to the main household. Only to them, because the formula is useless to those outside of it. After all, it takes the blood of a dragon to activate. "Five Dragons Secret rt!" He presses his hands to her stomach, drawing my power towards him with the sheer power of his will. "Holy Dragon Seal!"_

 _It is a strange sensation, to be drawn through the chakra of a human, compacted in form until I can pass through the formula of the seal and into the body of this tiny child. And for a moment I stay conscious enough to smile with the girl's lips. "I promise…she will be safe…"_

 _As I drift down past the girl's fading consciousness, I hear the man's last words painfully clearly. "It will be alright. You will survive this night. Be calm and rest now." A sad sigh. "Sleep…"_

 _I envelop the girl in my warmth, dragging her into a deep sleep as my own chakra begins to work a miracle, sustaining her life and pulling her back from the brink of death. She will be safe…because I will make it so._

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

His eyes open, and he gazes at me, but like he's only half seeing me. "That is the story of how Kiyoshi Shiryugu, known as Kiyoshi Uchiha, died. And it is the story of how a jinchuuriki was born amongst blood and death, never knowing who or what ripped everything she ever knew away from her. It is the reason that I have been watching over her ever since, never pushing too hard, for fear of breaking apart her fragile body. I have long since suspected what caused the travesty that happened that night, but never once did we discover just who was behind it." He smiles sadly at me. "Until now."

"Danzo." Before today, I didn't believe that I could possibly hate Danzo any more than I did for what he did to Itachi and the Uchiha. But now…

Now, I want nothing more than to hear that monster die screaming.

"And I thought Orochimaru was messed up." I'd almost forgotten that Suigetsu was here, the demon's story was more transfixing than I thought it would be.

Karin glances at our guest, then at me, much quieter than she usually is. That's likely a good thing, since I feel as though I could snap at any second. "…Sasuke, what do we do now?"

I stare the demon in the eyes as dirty brown hair hangs over equally dirty and heavily tanned skin. "We stay here to recover, and when she wakes up, we make our plans." Or rather, we'll make an updated version of them. I'm still not entirely sure what she'll be able to bring to the table, but now more than ever, I want to find out. "Which means that the four of us will keep watch while you go to sleep."

The demon's eyes sparkle with amusement. "Yes, quite." He pulls the blanket up, covering Ciara's entire body with it. "Be careful, Uchiha, else you might find yourself regretting your course. To suffer the penalty of haste, which is too little speed."

I narrow my eyes as he closes his. "And what do you mean by that?"

A smile curls rosy red lips. "It means, child, that if you try too hard to hurry, you will find yourself slowing down considerably. Doing things in a timely manner is important, but you must do things in a patient manner, or you risk making an error and slowing yourself more than necessary had you taken the slower, more precise course of action. Fast is the hawk that dives for its prey, but it goes hungry should the rabbit dive into its burrow and never emerge."

I blink, taking in his words with more care than before. _Don't be slow but don't rush, or you'll face obstacles you otherwise wouldn't. Plan ahead and strike at the right moment, or the hunter will miss their prey who goes to ground._ I hate to admit it, but he has a point. "Hn." I suppose I'll take it into consideration. But we still have to wait some to make these plans, and I'm almost out of patience.

He chuckles softly. "I hope that we meet again, Uchiha. It has been quite…enlightening."

I know the instant that he returns to her subconscious. His chakra dims, leaving only faint lights in her body, barely visible even to my Sharingan.

Suigetsu gets to his feet, brushing off some of the dirt from his pants, accumulated on the way here. "Well, that was weird. I'll take first watch." He hefts his sword over his shoulder, smiling toothily at me. "You can stay in here with the weird double personality demon chick for now. Even I need a little extra sanity after listening to all of that." He sets himself up next to the narrow entrance of the cave, despite my glaring. "Jeez, just what kind of shit did we just step in…?"

"Nothing good." Jugo sits down between Karin and I, setting down some wood from outside to make a fire. "So, we're really going after this Danzo person?"

"Yes, Danzo will die." And I'm going to make sure it's painful.

I pull a blanket out of a small traveling pack of my own, setting it out as I lay down to get some sleep. I don't want to dream of Itachi. The wounds are too fresh to be dreaming of Itachi again.

Because recently, my nightmares have changed completely.

* * *

 **So, can anyone guess where Suzaku's line about haste comes from? Brownie points if you get it right ;)**


	40. A Jinchuuriki Awakens

**Sorry for taking so long. School is a nightmare right now, but on the bright side, I'm finally almost done with all of the work (just two major papers and an exam left). I've got one teacher that…it feels like they don't know the meaning of the word moderation. Waaaaay too much homework for one teacher to assign in just one semester.**

 **And greymatter wins the brownie points. Yes, the quote in the last chapter comes from Plato. Gotta love those wise old Greek philosophers, they have such great material.**

 **Hi Mikan, you're very…enthusiastic about where things are going, I see. Good. On the Tobi part, maybe, but that would be a while off, we've still got to get through Pain before we get to the Kage Summit. And those two arcs are going to be interesting in how they change after this chapter, as well as in what you'll all finally get to see take shape. On the note of Sasuke's thoughts (both on Danzo's crimes and on Ciara herself), we'll get to see those shortly, both in this chapter and the next. On Shisui, I was certainly thinking about it, I just need to come up with a plausible explanation first. On the confrontation aspect, I'll get to Naruto later, but I have a little surprise in store first. That'll happen…probably next chapter.**

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

My eyes open slowly, the soft chirping of birds tickling my eardrums as I push myself into a sitting position. I feel…rested for once, like I've slept for days. Now, I know that I haven't, Suzaku would have told me if I had. But still, it's…nice.

What's not so nice is the smell of blood and dirt and sweat hanging about me. And I think there's the smell of a dungeon too, dusty and with a hint of rusted iron. _Gross…_

I glance around at the inside of the…cave? I wonder when we got here… Still, I'm no stranger to sleeping in caves. Whenever me and the boys used to go out on a search and rescue mission, we would keep our home base in one of the many caves in the regions. In fact, we've probably got half a dozen of those caves stocked, just in case we need to camp out somewhere for a couple of weeks. The thing is, I've never seen this particular cave before.

 _Right…we're in the Land of Rivers, that's what Suzaku said before he went to sleep._ I'm vaguely aware of a few bits and pieces of the last twenty-four hours, but that's only because I sometimes get flashes of his memories, and him of mine. Besides, I doubt that I could ever successfully hide anything from him if my partner really wanted to know.

Which leaves…this situation. My gaze falls to where Sasuke lies sleeping. The sleeping part isn't strange, I've seen it plenty of times before. Only…he was much younger, and now he's grown into a man. He'll be seventeen in a month and a half. His face, so familiar, is so different now. There's still the graceful soft lines to it, like Itachi's, and it's as pale as polished ivory. His hair is still spiked up like I remember, and as black as night, the blue tint long gone. But there's no trace of the baby fat now, and the angle of his cheekbones and jaw are decidedly sharper than they used to be.

He looks so peaceful that I have to resist the urge to reach out and touch him. If I recall right, and I'm pretty sure that I do, he doesn't like being woken up this early. Honestly, neither do I, but when I'm healing, I don't get to dictate the schedule that my body runs on.

 _Speaking of my body…I really need to get myself cleaned up. Now._

With the skills I acquired on the road with Naruto and Jiraiya, learning how to duck out at odd hours to avoid perverts when I want a bath, I fold over my blanket and reach for my bag. I tug a scroll out of it and flare my chakra only a tiny bit in order to produce soap, shampoo, conditioner, a complete fresh set of clothes, and a hair brush.

A sharp pain lancing through me reminds me that I've been held captive and away from my medical supplies for a week. So I reach into my bag for a small jar, popping out a tiny, concentrated pill of the only combination of minerals and herbs that Suzaku's chakra won't automatically burn out of my system. Down it goes and up I get, stepping silently past Sasuke's female companion and towards the entrance of the cave.

Next to the entrance sits the giant one with the orange hair. He looks up at me as I approach, his eyes widening. "You're up? But I thought-"

I wave my hand and silently cut him off. "I'm fine now, I'm just heading out to wash up." I show him the pile in my arms. "Let the others sleep, I'll be back soon."

He eyes the bundle in my arms, frowning. "But there's no town anywhere near here."

The comment is amusing, as is the assumption behind it. "Then I will find a river. This is the Land of Rivers, after all." I glide past him, patting him reassuringly on the shoulder. "Watch over him for me."

His gaze softens and he nods, leaving me to slip out of the narrow opening to the cave and out into the light of the rising sun. It's strange, it's been so long since I last saw the sun, but as soon as the rays touch me, it just feels so right. Like a gentle caress or a familiar smile.

I take a deep breath of the fresh air and smile. _Hey, Naruto…I did it. I finally found him. Well, he found me, but that's not the important part. I don't think I'll be able to convince him to come home, but I'll give it a try. And if that doesn't work, I'll find another way to keep him connected to us. He's not going to be able to just go running off again without us knowing about it. I'll make sure of it._

My first step is hesitant, my second, less so. By my fifth step, I'm sprinting down the side of the cliff, racing towards the ground as my eyes search for a source of water to use.

Seemingly on their own, my eyes turn my gaze towards the east, in the direction of the sun, and another segment of the cliffs. _There, Chick, there should be waterfalls for you to use to clean yourself._

 _Thanks._ I should have known that he mapped out the terrain while he traveled here with them. It'll make this a lot easier if I don't have to waste time looking around for a place to shower. After putting this much effort into getting me out of that place, I doubt that Sasuke is going to appreciate me disappearing, even for a little bit.

I hit the trees, the sounds of crashing water becoming louder by the second. Jackpot. I fly through the air, jumping from branch to branch as I approach the falls, not at all disappointed by the torrents of water falling down the side of the cliff, supplying one of the tributaries to the larger rivers.

Five sparkling cascades, and at the moment, completely deserted. Perfect… I drop my bundle onto a patch of clean grass far enough away to protect it from the mists hanging over the water. Then, I strip off my ruined clothes, all ripped up and covered in dirt and blood. I'll burn them before I go back. For now, I just want to get clean.

The first step under the cascading water is a relief, as is the scrubbing that peels the dried crusts from my skin. This is going to take longer than I'd hoped, but at least I'll be clean when I return to the cave.

Despite the muddying of the water with dirt, blood, and no small amount of suds, I sigh in contentment. Never before has it felt so good to be free.

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

 _How the fuck did she manage to get past me?_ I expected her to still be asleep when I woke up, or at least that if she did wake up, that I would hear it, or sense her chakra moving. "Suigetsu, Karin, Jugo!" We have to move fast, otherwise we could lose track of her.

Suigetsu rolls over, groaning loudly. "Damn it, Sasuke…what is it?"

"She's gone." I press my hand to her blanket, finding it still slightly warm. She must have been here less than an hour ago. "Jugo, you were last on watch. Did you see anything?"

He nods as Karin rolls herself, grumbling, out of bed. "She left only an hour ago, saying that she wanted to have a bath." Jugo points towards her bag, still lying next to her blanket and pillow. "I doubt she'd leave all her things here if she weren't coming back."

"Tch." Of all the times for her to want to run off and take a bath. I would have sent Karin with her if she insisted on it. "Get ready to move. We're going to go find her, now."

But as I move to pick up my chokuto and slide it into my belt, a soft laugh comes from the narrow cave entrance. "I see that your impatient streak is still alive and well, Sasuke. Not that I don't have a streak of my own."

I look to my left, just over my shoulder to see a pair of rich, sparkling green eyes the color of dark emeralds in the sun. Her skin sports a healthy glow now, and her hair's been washed and brushed. I was barely conscious the time when I saw her trying to revive Itachi, and ever since then, she's been covered in scratches and dirt and blood.

Seeing her without any of that is more of a shock than I expected.

Those emerald eyes widen slightly, before her gaze softens and the skin at the corners of her eyes crinkles with delicate smile lines. "Ninja cat got your tongue?" She approaches slowly, letting her boots tap quietly against the ground. "You should have some faith in me, you know…"

I twitch at the implications. "Hn." She forgets that I'm not the one walking around with an Akatsuki target on my back. She needs to be more careful, or she'll end up getting herself killed.

Suigetsu looks between the two of us, violet eyes almost spinning to try and keep up. "…No way…YOU'RE the jinchuuriki!?"

She barely flinches at the outburst, but nods anyway. "Yes, I am. My name is Ciara Shiryugu." Then, she holds up a string of rabbits, freshly caught. "Here, I brought breakfast."

Without a word, I place my chokuto back against the wall of the cave and sit down. _Honestly…_ I glance discreetly at her as she moves towards her things, placing the rabbits down in a pile as she summons a knife and a large slab of wood from the scroll, placing them right next to the rabbits. She put herself at risk for rabbits?

 _Then again, it wouldn't be the first time that she's put her own safety at risk just to make sure that others are taken care of before herself. I close my eyes, memories of the Land of Tea coming to mind. She tended to our injuries and the poison, even though she'd been affected as well, after suffering smoke inhalation and nearly drowning. And Itachi called me foolish…she's the one who worked herself into a fever while letting the poison set in. And then she went and dove off a cliff after us and was almost crushed under our weight._ Because after the mission, Sakura helpfully informed me that it was my weight that dislocated Ciara's shoulder in the first place. She could be useful to my goals, but only if she doesn't try to martyr herself or end up playing someone's shield.

And the number of times that she could have died on that mission alone puts an unpleasant twist in my stomach.

I watch the movement of her hands as she sets about preparing the rabbits. In between missions, we would sometimes have training missions, survival missions, and even then, she was good with her hands. But it looks like she's moved on from scaling fish to skinning rabbits. Though I know that those hands prefer to heal instead.

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

He's gone quiet, but I guess I expected that. Sasuke could always argue with Naruto like there was no tomorrow, but he always was pretty quiet if he didn't feel like saying anything. Though I can feel the weight of his gaze on me, and while his mouth might be silent, his mind definitely isn't. "So, how about the three of you?" I glance at the giant with the orange hair, the sword-lover with the white hair, and the redhead who really doesn't seem to like me. "I know enough stories about Sasuke to keep a campfire entertained for a while, but we were never really introduced back in that prison cell."

I know their names, thanks to vague memories half forgotten from that cell, and mostly from Suzaku's memories of the traveling, but a few hours of exposure to bickering and silence through secondhand means doesn't really tell me very much about them. "How about you? I glance up at the white-haired one as I set aside a second skinned rabbit. "Your name is Suigetsu, right? Did you find Sasuke, or did Sasuke find you?"

The questions seems to pull him out of his earlier shock, and his puts his hands behind his head, relaxing as he grins at me. "Sasuke found me floating in a tank, asked me to come along, said I could take Kisame's sword if we ran into him while hunting down Itachi."

 _Hunting Itachi…?_ It's not like I didn't know that's what Sasuke was doing, but it hurts to hear it just thrown out like that so non-chalantly. "I see, so you really do like swords, then?" I glance at the very familiar blade resting not far from him. "I remember a time when I was twelve years old and jumping on that sword like a trampoline." It was…almost arguably a happier time. Though I suppose that I've just traded one misery for another. No longer is it the angry glares directed at Naruto in the streets, but the Akatsuki hunting us while we sleep. _Naruto…where are you now? Are you still looking for me? The thought is a foolish one. I suppose I should wonder where you're looking for me, not whether or not you are._

Suigetsu pulls me from my musings with a rather loud exclamation. "Wait, you've MET Zabuza!?"

"Of course I have." Obviously, Sasuke didn't tell them the whole story, or much about me at all. "It was on my first mission as an accompanying medic. The old man wanted me to get some more field experience in my specialty, so I was sent along with Squad Seven to the Land of Waves back when we were newly graduated genin." And I've got some pleasant, and lots of not so pleasant memories of that mission. "I definitely got my practical training started. When I wasn't pulling senbon out of Sasuke, I was wandering the village streets, tending to the villagers." I smile slightly. "Or bouncing off the sword of one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist." The sword next to him brings back a lot of memories. "That one right there, as a matter of fact. I have to say that I liked Zabuza better than Raiga or Kisame. Kisame is an asshole, and Raiga was a raving nutcase."

Now that certainly gets his attention. "So, you've met Kisame and Raiga as well?" Judging by the fact that he's got Zabuza's sword, this guy must be a fan of theirs, or at last of their swords.

"Yes, I guess you could say I've met them. Or, more accurately, I've been in battle with them." _Not that my battle with Kisame went very well, it was over in an instant because of a sneak attack._ I glance up from the newly gutted rabbits, spearing the first two, smearing them in an herbal concoction that I carry around in my medical kit, and set them over the fire pit to roast. "Zabuza was…redeemable, but I can't say that I'm a fan of the other two."

Suigetsu snorts and lays back, grinning widely. "Yeah, I'm not their biggest fan either. I still want their swords, though. I don't suppose you know where Raiga's Fangs are?"

 _Hm…if I remember correctly, that mission was…_ "I think they call it Thunder Gorge now, it's near the Katabami Gold Mine." Assuming, of course, that no one actually went to where Raiga threw himself off the cliff in a blaze of lightning and recovered them. "Raiga vaporized himself with lightning, but I doubt that he managed to destroy the blades." If he had, I would be mildly impressed that he managed to wield that much chakra right before his death. "And that's after Naruto, Neji, Lee, and I had him backed into a corner."

"Do ya think you could take me to them?" His violet eyes shine with a manic gleam. "That's not far from here, we could make the trip in a couple of hours."

"Suigetsu." Sasuke finally speaks up, and he really doesn't sound too pleased. "She's not here to be your tour guide."

I glance at Sasuke, watching him consideringly. _Maybe not, but you haven't told me what you want me here for._ I know he wants something, it's Sasuke, he always has a goal in mind. "It's fine, I don't mind taking you to where we fought Raiga. Though…it was three and a half years ago, so I can't promise that the swords are still there. But if they are, then I know where they would have fallen." And approximately where they would have gotten carried to and stuck if the river washed them along.

"Damn, how old were you, ten?" Suigetsu cackles at me, clearly impressed. "I knew those old guys were nothing to worry about."

"Say that after you've had someone throwing massive bolts of lightning at your and your team, and fooling even a Byakugan's field of vision with some mist and a dozen phantom targets." He may think it was a cake walk, but there's a reason we had to fight that guy more than once. "And no, I was twelve and a half. It was a few months after Sasuke left the village. I was a new chunin leading a five-man team to clear some renegade shinobi out of the mine, so it took a bit longer than I'd hoped when we found out that they had a rogue Mist ninja leading them. For some reason, I seem to run into a lot of them."

"Yeah, yeah, so anyway." It figures that Suigetsu wouldn't be interested in the tally. He seems more interested in specific details instead. "You said that you fought Kisame as well, right? Did you figure out anything useful I can use for fighting him?"

I stare at him blankly, and personally, I think he's a bit more than a little insane. _Must be a Mist swordsmen thing_. "Not really, no. He got in a sneak attack while I was immobilized and fighting half a dozen other Akatsuki opponents." I point to my back, where the cuts have almost entirely healed, only faint scars there now that should disappear in a few days. "I know I was delirious with infection and fever, but I do remember you guys putting my wings back in alignment and unsealing Suzaku's chakra enough to heal them. Kisame is the one who rammed Samehada down on top of me and shattered them in the first place." Though I suppose, if nothing else, he at least knows now what kind of damage is done to anyone with the misfortune of being hit with that monster of a sword.

"That's how you ended up like that?" The girl, I think Sasuke called her Karin, speaks up. "It looked like you'd been put through a meat grinder."

"You're not far off…" Kisame's sword shredded me pretty good. If I'd been anyone else, I likely would have died before they got me back to their hideout. "Samehada…Sharkskin…it's meant to essentially mince the victim." Or so Kisame once mentioned a long time ago when I was much smaller, and much more helpless. "If it hadn't been for the wings getting in the way, I probably wouldn't have survived his sneak attack. Which, I suppose was the point seeing as they've been taking each of us alive."

I close my eyes, feeling a pang shoot through my heart. _They're killing us all…one by one…_ It's why I have to get back to the Leaf, of course. Naruto is there, and if nothing else, I have to be there to keep him safe. _I can't let these monsters get to my best friend, not after killing Utakata, not after what they did to Gaara. I will NOT let Naruto be the next one sacrificed for their twisted ends…_

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

I look up at her, frowning as she gets eerily quiet. I didn't really mind listening to her talk to Taka, but…I really don't like the look on her face right now. She looks like she's just a few small prods from falling apart. Or screaming. Or…I don't know. And I really don't like not being able to predict what she might do. Not that she's ever been easy to predict, but back then, I would sometimes have an inkling, at least.

But now that she's awake, I think it's about time I tell her what I know. "Ciara."

She looks up at the sound of my voice, her clouded gaze clearing slowly. "Yes?" The smell of cooking rabbits fills the air, along with the smell of herbs and salt rubbed into the meat. Her nose twitches and it's almost…cute.

But I have no time for cute. "How much do you remember from our conversation in the cells?"

She blinks, tilting her head slightly as her brow scrunches in concentration. "You…said something about the Uchiha, and…my family. You said that…" She pauses, like she just can't quite grasps something. "You…know who ordered them killed, right? You know who sent the horde of assassins to my family's estate."

Well, she remembers half of it. Considering the condition she was in, that's likely as much as I could have hoped for. "That's right. Danzo, he's one of the Leaf's elders. He's also the one who ordered Itachi to kill the Uchiha Clan."

And there it is, sparks of anger flashing through her eyes. "Danzo…" I can hear the hint of barely suppressed fury in her voice, much clearer now than when she was delirious in the cells. "…And I told you that the best plan was to get Inoichi Yamanaka, Ibiki Morino, and Shikaku Nara involved in investigating it."

 _What a surprise, she remembers that part as well._ "Yeah, you said that if I contacted your old teammate, that he could get me information." Not that I need to contact him now.

As if reading my mind, she nods. "So that's why you got me out. Your basis is because you believe me to be more sympathetic to your cause. I'm your access to everything you need to prove that he did it, and get to him in order to get your revenge."

I raise an eyebrow. "Don't you mean our revenge?" After all, according to the one who calls himself Madara, I'm not the only one who suffered under the orders given by the Leaf's elders.

"Our revenge…?" She rolls the word around in her mouth, her eyes sliding halfway shut as her gaze drops to the floor. "…I…don't want revenge."

Now that, I have a hard time believing. "You're not angry for what they did to Itachi? To your clan? To mine?" I can barely contain my own rage, but I know I have to, otherwise I'll never convince her. It's her emotions that need riling, not mine.

That said, I can feel my own coming to just below the surface, boiling and rolling, and begging to be released to burn them all to ash.

"No." Her simple response sets my face into a frown. _What does she mean by no?_ But as I open my mouth to present another argument, something that might convince her, she raises her head, pinning me with a strong gaze. "You're right. I'm angry for what they did, provided that they ARE the ones who did it. Ordering something like that makes the master as guilty as the ones who carried it out. Even more so, actually, because the cumulative sins of underlings belong to their master. But…" She sighs, cleaning off her hands and setting the last rabbits to roast, before wrapping them around her knees. "Will killing them make you happy, Sasuke?"

What? "I want to kill them, yes." I thought that would be obvious. _Don't tell me that she wants to spare those monsters…_

"I know that you want to kill them. But I asked you if that will make you happy." She smiles softly, as though she's not actually angry about the fact that she's been an orphan even longer than I have, that her life was torn apart, and everything she ever loved was lost to her. "Will killing them make you HAPPY, Sasuke?"

 _Will killing them…make me happy?_ I glare at her, hating the smile on her face. _Of course it'll make me happy. They deserve to die for what they did to Itachi!_ "Yes."

She nods, her smiling fading away. "I see…" Then She looks to the ceiling, as though looking through and far beyond it. "…Revenge…will not make me happy."

I narrow my eyes. "So you won't help me, then?"

"No, I didn't say that." Her gaze drops back down to me, the fire returned to it. "When I go back to the Leaf, I'll tell Naruto about it. I'll have him keep it a secret. I'll get Inoichi, Shikaku, Ibiki, and Akito involved. I'll go to Tsunade and have her classify it as top secret until we can prove or disprove what you've said. If it turns out to be true, then…" She takes a deep breath, her eyes clearer than I've ever seen them, the emerald green flickering in the firelight. "Then they'll be punished. Anyone who orders genocide once could do it twice. Someone who orders it twice has probably done it more than that. And someone who regularly orders crimes like that to be committed…is too dangerous to be allowed to live, because it means that they can and will do it again."

I frown as I consider her words. She's wrestling with the morality of it, weighing the future against someone's life. Not that they deserve that consideration, but I suppose that she wouldn't be herself if she didn't think about the morality of killing a bunch of murderers.

But she's on board, and that's what matters. And for that, I need her back to full health. "Eat, then get some sleep." I know she's still low on chakra, and if I insisted on moving on, I'm sure that she would pick herself up, no matter how tired she is, and run until she drops. But that's not happening today. "We'll leave in the morning."

She gazes blankly at me, then nods slowly. "Alright. We can make a detour towards the mine tomorrow to see if the swords are still there before moving on."

I'd rather not, but I know that Suigetsu will complain for days if we don't at least go and check out the location. "Fine, but you stay close and don't leave my sight."

A tiny smile curls her lips, a hint of laughter in her eyes. "I don't suppose you'll say please?" I glare, and she just laughs softly as she reaches for half a rabbit and spreads out her blanket again. "You really haven't changed…have you, Sasuke?"

"Hn." I've changed more than she knows, done things she wouldn't believe. I'm stronger than I was when we were children, and I know things now that I wish I'd known a long time ago…


	41. A Blast from the Past

**Long Author's Note ahead. (Mostly just reader responses)**

 **So, to announce to everyone what's going on, I've finally made it through my university year (handed in four pieces on my very last day!) and I'm home for the summer. This means that I should have a lot more free time, which means more updates, or more time for sleeping (which explains al of my naps over the last couple of weeks). These last couple of months have been really slow because of all the homework I got piled with, but since I won't be getting any more homework until September, I should survive the next few months with greatly reduced stress (that I've been working on sleeping off). At least, that's my hope. Once my laptop gets fixed...it decided to crap out on me again. They never seem to last.**

 **To the guest who left the question, yes, it seems that the story wants to go that way despite my original intentions. But that's what makes a story organic. Sometimes it takes turns that are not in my master plan. And this one in particular has gone entirely off my original rails. Fortunately, if nothing else, I'm good at building new tracks.**

 **To girani…sorry, the story has decided not to grant you your SasuSaku. As a series of plot devices, it is a pairing that is too lacking in substance for me to create unless I were to entirely rewrite both their back-stories, force Sakura to have matured far beyond what was developed for her character, and essentially removed every character trait about her (including her obvious fangirl status, ignorance regarding Sasuke's inner workings and motivations, and her over-enthusiasm and lack of temperance in her attempts to win Sasuke's affections) that annoys Sasuke. I feel like she becomes less genuine around Sasuke, whereas he is too aloof around her, and that's not a good foundation for a relationship (especially one where he's absent 95% of the time). If I did an AU and rewrote their stories, I could make it happen, but not in this story's case (since it's running away with me anyway)**

 **Slow down Mikan, and be careful about who you shove into a love triangle, because I'm not actually planning for a love triangle. I just ended up with two contenders before and had to pick which seemed the stronger match. Poor Naruto isn't getting caught up in this roller-coaster. Poor Naruto, he already competes with Sasuke over so much…they don't need to compete over a girl as well. That doesn't mean there won't be tension over it, because we all know that Naruto can get extremely protective of the people he cares about. Oh, and about Sasuke's reaction to Danzo hunting her…badly.**

 **Now, on with the show. I've got a nice long chapter and lots of bonding with Taka for all of you sweet, patient little readers.**

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

I watch the rise and fall of her chest, measuring the timing of every breath. I knew the instant she fell asleep, but now the priority is making sure that she recovers quickly enough for us to move by tomorrow. The longer we stay, the higher the chance of having the Akatsuki track her down, and us with her.

"So…" Suigetsu stares at her as well, shifting his gaze to me every so often. "What's with you and her, anyway? Something feels really off with the two of you."

"Nothing is off with the two of us." And where does Suigetsu get off saying something like that? He doesn't even know her the way I do. Though, now that I think about it, I have to wonder just how well I really know her. She's so different to how I remember her, and yet, some things never seem to change. She still looks at me with those gentle eyes. And she won't take care of herself unless someone makes her.

Suigetsu snorts and leans forward over his sword. "Right. Well, at least now I know why you wanted to save her so badly. She's a hottie when she's not all covered in blood and feathers."

My fingers twitch with the urge to put a chidori through his chest. "Suigetsu…" He shouldn't talk about her like that, shouldn't even think about her like that. "You're not here to hit on a Leaf ninja."

"Right, right." He waves his hands as though that might placate me. It doesn't. "We got your girlfriend out of there, she's not dead, and she's still all full of demon. So chill out and go find a corner to make demon babies with her in."

For a minute, it's tempting to have Amaterasu swallow Suigetsu up to shut him up. That was never my intention in breaking her out of there. But I take a deep breath and turn my gaze back on her instead. "Shut up, Suigetsu."

"What?" He slides away from me, jiggling his sword in his lap. "She's a hot demon! Was I not supposed to notice?"

"She's not a demon." _There's a demon inside her, yes, but she's not…_ I grit my teeth, shooting a hard glare at Suigetsu, my eyes burning as they bleed red. "She's a jinchuuriki." And now…now I know the difference. I know her, and now, I've met the demon inside of her. The differences between them are obvious, and if Suigetsu can't see that, then it's a good thing I have her along to balance out his stupidity.

Jugo pokes at the fire, having switched shifts with Karin about an hour ago. "Yeah, but what does that mean, Sasuke?" I don't like the look on his face right now, it's…unsettling. "What did the Akatsuki not tell us?"

 _A lot, apparently._ But she'll tell us when she wakes up. "She'll give us the answers soon enough. She wasn't really one for keeping secrets from me when we were younger." After all, she made no effort to hide her wings from me when the Chunin Exams got dangerous. The only thing she never talked about was Itachi. Not that it was something that I talked about either.

"Right…" His eyes flick from me to her, then back again. "If…you do want some privacy, just remember to be careful. You don't know if she's on something or not."

I raise a disbelieving eyebrow at Jugo. "You too?" _Why do they both seem to think that I stole her because I wanted_ "…Why do you think I want anything other than her power and her access to information?" I stop as she shifts in her sleep, rolling over, but thankfully not waking up yet.

Jugo shifts the stick into his other hand, grasping it firmly as he reaches over to tug Ciara's blanket back over her. "Maybe it's just me, but you seem almost…worried about her. If we wanted a jinchuuriki, we could have grabbed the Eight-Tails, or the one who was brought in with her. But she's the one you wanted. Even if you've gone separate ways with the Leaf, you're not at all worried that she'll take you back there, are you?"

I frown, considering the point. …It's true, I don't feel the imminent threat of her trying to fight me over going back to the Leaf or not. In fact, other than suggesting that I get in touch with a few people from the village, she hasn't mentioned it very much outside of old missions she's done that she told Suigetsu about. There's no pressure, no insisting. I saw the wish in her eyes, but she didn't push me on it. Which is strange, considering how pushy she can be when there's an emergency, medical or otherwise.

She rolls over again, requiring Jugo to shift her blanket once more. And for a second, I almost want to slap his hand away and do it myself. But I resist the urge, even when his fingers brush against her arm and shift her hair away from her face. I don't remember her being such a restless sleeper. "Strange…"

"What's strange?" Jugo frowns as he finishes tucking the blanket in around her.

 _Damn it._ I hadn't meant to say that out loud. "…She sleeps differently to how I remember." She used to sleep so much more soundly, even when we were camped out in rough terrain on the few missions we had together.

"Oh?" Suigetsu pipes up, and I really wish he wouldn't. "So what do you remember about this chick? It'd probably be good to know, since we'll be traveling with her for a while."

And I wish he didn't have a point there. "She's…stubborn." I want him to just let it go.

"Really?" Of course he doesn't. Instead, Suigetsu raises an eyebrow. "She doesn't seem that stubborn to me. Sure, she ran off this morning, but that was just to take a bath, right? What's the harm in letting her do what she wants if she's not planning on running away from us? If she was going to, wouldn't she have done that while we were sleeping?"

"I'm not worried about her running away from me." If anything, the fact that now she knows where I am is more likely to keep her close by, since I doubt she's given up entirely on taking me back to the Leaf. "But she's stubborn when she wants her way, she's impulsive, she's reckless, she's pushy, demanding, has no sense of self-preservation, she's an insufferable martyr-" I could go on for days about all the things that she does that annoy me. "And she won't take care of herself unless she's TOLD to." _Because she's_ _always more worried about protecting and taking care of everyone else that she can't be bothered to take care of her own needs first! And she'll make reckless decisions with no worry for her own safety even if she's the medic and supposed to stay far away from the fighting._

"Sasuke?" Jugo's voice makes me realize that I'm seething. "Is something wrong?"

I want to say no, but Suigetsu starts cackling before I even open my mouth. "Sounds like she's a real winner, then! I had no idea someone could piss you off more than Karin!" He grins widely, tilting his head as he looks at her lying under the thin blanket. "I guess that means she's free game. She seems like she'd do anything I say." He grins in a way I really don't like. "Maybe she'll stick around a bit longer if I give her a reason."

"Touch her and I will castrate you with my chidori." She is not here to be seduced by Suigetsu, and if he even suggests it again, he'll be wishing he was sleeping with Karin.

"Whoa! Hey, easy there." Suigetsu holds up his hands and scuttles away from me. "No need to get that touchy over it, I was just kidding!"

I lower my fingers, my gaze falling back on her for now. It's quiet now which means I have time to think. _Just what is she...and how did she end up like this?_ There's a lot of things that I want to ask her about how she ended up with a demon hanging out in her body, particularly about what it means, how it works, and just what she can do that she'd never showed me before...

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

Well, it's not the best nap I've ever had, but based on the fact that I managed to survive the night, or...afternoon, I probably got enough sleep to replenish at least some of my chakra. I almost wish I could pop a chakra pill like everybody else. I stifle a yawn and blink my eyes halfway open, using one hand to wipe away the sleep in my eyes, and the other to sit myself up under my blanket.

"Welcome back." I still at the sound of the soft, baritone voice. _So, not a dream, then._ I open my eyes, both a little surprised, but mostly relieved to see Sasuke sitting a few feet away. Those dark eyes focus intently on me, not that that's anything new. He's always been pretty intense. Especially about observing people he finds interesting enough to focus on. Apparently, I am still one of those people.

Still, the words bring a smile to my lips. "Thank you." I stretch my arms over my head, working out the kinks in my muscles. "So, I take it that since you haven't decided to run while I was sleeping that there's more you want with me." I glance at the white-haired swordsman in the corner. "And it probably doesn't have much to do with the swords he wants."

Onyx eyes narrow at me. "Yes. I have questions for you."

More questions, that doesn't surprise me in the least. "Okay. Would you rather talk here, or on the way to the ravine?" If I still know him as well as I think I do, then I already know what his answer is going to be.

"We'll talk on the way." Bullseye. Sasuke never did like wasting time, and it looks like that hasn''t changed in the least. "But this little field trip of yours had better not take all night."

Resisting the urge to laugh at the hints of impatience in his voice, I set about rolling up my bed and putting my pillow away. _Note to self, thank Tenten for those lessons in using storage scrolls when I get home._ Seriously, those lessons are going to make missions so much easier. I can carry the contents of my whole house in this thing if I wanted to. "It shouldn't take too long. I'm not like Sakura, who feels the need to do a complete inventory of everything before moving out, complete with explanation and justification." Though that can be useful during some missions, it can eat up a lot of time too. I know just from the weight of my pack and opening up two scrolls that everything is where it should be. Including... I raise an eyebrow as I pull a small bottle from my pack and observe the objects within. "...Are these Itachi's?" A pair of eyes floating in a clear, yellowish preservative. And judging by the smell, it's a high quality one.

Sasuke doesn't answer me, but that's enough of an answer in and of itself.

I rise to my feet, strapping my pack to my belts and sliding on the chakra blades hidden in my arm guards. "I assume you want to get moving now?"

"Yes." Sasuke takes a cloak from the ground, wrapping it around his shoulders as he puts out the fire. "Karin, Suigetsu, Juugo, it's time to move."

I'm not sure whether or not I should be surprised that no one protests having to move so suddenly. This new team of Sasuke's...I've only really briefly met them, seeing as I've spent most of my time with them fast asleep. But I suppose at the very least, I can use this opportunity to evaluate them. After all, Sasuke picked these three for a reason.

Once I brush all of the dust and dirt from my clothes, I makes sure that everything is secured. Not that I expected it to be in disarray, but it's good to make sure after everything had to be rescued from the Akatsuki. Myself, included. "Thanks for grabbing all of my gear." Seriously, I don't think that Sasuke missed a single piece.

"Hn." _Right, Sasuke likes to be inarticulate like that._ One of these days, he's going to have to fix that. Or at least fix it enough to start having in-depth conversations with people. The last thing he needs is to get bored.

I turn to the large, orange-haired man and smile. "Juugo, right?"

He nods slowly, his eyes watching me rather consideringly. "That's right. Is there something you need?"

So polite, just like before. I have to say that I like this particular companion of Sasuke's. "Could you hang back with Sasuke? I think he needs some quiet time to think about the questions he wants to ask me. I'll take...Suigetsu up front with me, and we can stash your medic in the middle." That seems like the best formation to me, since the one they call Karin doesn't strike me as a fighter. Sasuke and I both have fast enough reflexes that we should be able to deal with interference coming from the back or the front. At least, I'm pretty sure that Sasuke has adequate reflexes. It would shock me if he didn't.

"Hey! Who put you in charge?" Suigetsu glares at me, his arms crossed and a hip cocked out in. Way that almost reminds me of Ino. _Sasuke sure knows how to pick them..._

"Well, seeing as you want me to lead you straight to Raiga's swords..." I mean, I wasn't trying to actually take charge or anything, but strategically speaking, it's the best setup since I have to be up front and leading this small expedition, and Suigetsu seems to annoy the hell out of Sasuke. "I just thought that would be the best configuration for now, since I'm the one who actually knows where the swords are, and you'll be following me to that location." I glance at Sasuke, who hasn't said a word about it. "Is that a problem?" He seems to give the marching orders, so if anyone is going to have a problem with me setting things up for a bit, it should be him.

For a moment, it does look like he wants to say something, but in the end, he decides to keep his silence. "Hn." Well, mostly.

I sigh and shake my head as I head for the entrance to the cave. "You know, you're going to become a mute one of these days if you keep relying on non-answers like that. I mean, it's already hard enough to tell you 'fine' hn's from your 'don''t even think about it' hn's. No wonder it pissed Naruto off so much."

A heavy silence fills the cave, and I can already tell that Sasuke is glaring at my back just for mentioning his old teammate's name. Well, tough, because I'm not going to just never talk about my best friend. Sasuke isn't the only one who shares history with Naruto.

Unexpectedly, A pale hand touches my shoulder, tapping it excitedly. "Okay, now I HAVE to know about this Naruto guy. Anything that can put a look like that on Sasuke's face is something I need to know about."

 _A look like what?_ I glance back past Suigetsu, searching for Sasuke's thoughts. But his face and whatever expression he had disappear in an instant, though there's no way to put out the fire in his eyes. "Well...I can tell you plenty about Naruto, but I get the feeling that Sasuke is going to start throwing a few chidoris around if I do." Not that I coldn't dodge them, but thhat's not really the way I want to endear myself to Sasuke and his friends.

"Oh come on, it'll be fine!" Suigetsu claps me on the back and sidles past me out into the open air. "Now come on, let's go! You promised to take me to those swords, right?"

"Right." I did promise him that. "The location shouldn't be too far from here, so try to keep up." I slip past him and out into the open, taking in a deep breath of fresh, cool air. You never quite appreciate how good fresh air smells until you've been locked away in an underground dungeon. Which is not an experience that I'm looking forward to repeating. Ever.

Upon taking one more breath, I take off towards the trees further up the cliff, racing right up the side of the sheer face. And moments later, Suigetsu joins me, racing alongside me, though looking none too pleased about the pace. "The hell!? Since when have you been so fast?!"

"You think this is fast?" I raise a playful eyebrow at him. "This is my non-urgent mission speed. I've got three speeds above this."

"Three speeds above this!?" Suigetsu gapes at me. "And what the hell are those?"

I hold up three fingers, just to fuck with him a little. "Major mission, medical emergency, and Holy Fuck the World is Ending speed. Though I typically just think of that last one as the speed I use when Naruto needs backup."

His jaw drops even further, and honestly, it's really funny. I wonder just where Sasuke picked him up, because if nothing else, he definitely makes for good comic relief. Then, he looks over his shoulder and grins at his teammates. "Alright, I really like this chick. Why the hell didn't we take off with her sooner?"

"Because it would have been a bad idea?" I raise an eyebrow at him, my evaluation tilting towards slightly insane. "Whoever made the diversion that let you get me out of there is the only reason that this was even possible. I doubt their security would have been so lax, otherwise." Which is hardly the most pleasant of thoughts, but I feel that I need to be realistic right now. I'll do my kin no favours by ending up like them because I refused to see the situation for what it was. "Though if you all hadn't done it, I would probably be dead now. So thank you, really." I glance back at rain and Jugo, then Sasuke. "I won't forget what you've done for me."

"Sounds good. Now...I really want to cash in on that favor you owe me." Suigetsu grins widely. "Where are these swords?"

I chuckle at his excitement. "Not far now. But it'll take a little while to skirt the mountain and get to the mine. From there, I'll just find the battlefield we tore up, and then the cliff that Raiga's dove off of after Naruto cornered him."

"Naruto...who's this Naruto guy, anyway?" Suigetsu tilts his head curiously. "You've mentioned him, and for some reason, Sasuke doesn't want to say a word about him. What gives?"

The question warms my heart a little, though it hurts just a pinch that Sasuke doesn't like talking about Naruto. "Well, Naruto and I certainly don't have any problem like that. We talk about Sasuke all the time." I glance back at Sasuke, who looks like he's gone and swallowed something sour. But you know what? I'm not gagging myself now. If he wants my help, he's going to have to deal with the fact that I have a history with Naruto, despite how hard he wants to forget the village.

So, I turn my gaze back on Suigetsu, then ahead into the tree-line over the cliff. "How do I put this..." I reach up to the edge of the cliff and pull myself over it, flipping through the air and landing perfectly on my toes before taking off again, slowing just slightly to let them catch up. "I suppose you could say that Naruto is my best friend, brother, and battle partner all rolled into one. There's no one in this world that I trust more than him. Especially if it involves having my back when there's a fight going down."

"Really, so he's a Leaf ninja, then?" Violet eyes stay field on me, and I'm almost worried that Suigetsu is going to forget to look where he's going and trip over a tree branch or something.

"Yeah, he's like me." I touch my headband, smiling at the familiar feel of it. "He's also one of Sasuke's old teammates. I used to hang out with their team, go on missions with them, and train at all the wrong hours of the day. I was their medic for a few missions, captain for one, and got into more than a few scuffles involving at least one of their squad."

"Really? Sounds fascinating." Now, I don't even have to look at him to hear the grin in his voice. "Got any cool stories? Or embarrassing ones?"

"Suigetsu, enough." Sasuke's irritation reaches us, even from all the way back behind Karin and Jugo.

Not that I care. "Sure, I've got lots of stories." And if Sasuke doesn''t want me to tell them, then he can come up here and shut me up himself. "Back during our Chunin Exams, Sasuke had me getting up at the crack of dawn every day because Kakashi, his old sensei, asked me to help him train his taijutsu. He wanted Sasuke to better his agility, so I would get up early to do yoga and play tag with him for a couple of hours before Kakashi finally showed up."

Suigetsu snorts with laughter. "You did yoga with this stick in the mud?"

"Yep. Though he wasn't actually that much of a stick in the mud. He grumbled about it for the first few days, but after that, he settled down and really got into it. He got so flexible that even I was impressed with how quickly he improved. I'd been doing yoga for years but he picked it up in less than a month." I can feel Sasuke glaring at my back, and it's actually rather comforting. It reminds me of the good old days. "It was also hilarious to see him glaring at me while bent over backwards and upside-down. Not very intimidating, to put it kindly."

"Damn, I would have paid good money to see that!" Suigetsu cackles eagerly. "Got anything else? I want to hear about this Naruto guy."

"Hm...stories about Naruto, huh?" I can think of a lot of them, but...there's one that sticks out right now. "Alright, there was this one time right after we graduated that Naruto had a little bit of a mishap. We were in clas, waiting for our orientation, when all of the girls in class started fighting over who got to sit next to Sasuke. I'd considered siting next to him myself, if only to make them all stop fighting and to put myself and prevent him and Naruto from fighting in class, but before I could make a decision either way, Naruto got up on the desk and started glaring at Sasuke. Of course, that ticked off every girl in the class, but what ticked them off even more was-"

"Ciara, enough!" I glance back over my shoulder to see Sasuke's gaze darkening with unspoken promise. Obviously, he doesn't want me telling the rest of this story.

"When the guy in the row in front of them bumped Naruto in the back and he fell on top of Sasuke, accidentally stealing your fearless leader's first kiss." I smirk at the expression on Sasuke's face, noting that it cools in an instant into an expresionless mask. _Well now...he must be pretty noted if he refuses to even show it. Looks like he's gotten better control of his temper in the last few years._ Then again, I never was able to bait him quite like Naruto did.

"He what!?" Karin's cheeks grow ruby red. "Who does he think he is, stealing Sasuke's first kiss like that!?"

And despite her outburst, I smile. "The next Hokage of the Hidden Leaf. Naruto Uzumaki."

That silences her with a wide-eyed look of surprise. So Suigetsu picks up the thread where she leaves off. "So, got any more stories about this Naruto guy?"

 _Do I have any more stories, huh?_ "I've got more stories than you have time to hear them in. But I'll try to tell you a few of them..." _Hm...what would be a good one to get Sasuke to stop trying to set my hair on fire with his glaring..._ "Oh, I know. I could tell you about the hot spring incident." It's personal, and I'm not ashamed of it, so it should make for the perfect funny story. Because, in hindsight, it really was a hilarious accident.

"Hot springs, huh? Were you and him getting all hot and heavy?" Suigetsu should probably quit while he's ahead, or at least before he says something really stupid, but I have to admit that his playful goading is funny.

But if he's going to provide me with good material, then who am I to refuse him "Well, it was definitely hot, and Naruto was certainly getting heavy by that point, but we weren't really in any position, or mood, to try out the rainbow of methods that the old pervert described in those perverted books of his." The ones that he made ME edit. "But essentially what happened was this. Jiraiya took us to some hot springs, not unusual, seeing as he loves peeping on the girls there. But these hot springs were really old ones, and the signs were worn it and written on with an older dialect, probably from long before the founding of the hidden villages. So while I managed to figure out what the writing said, I guess that Naruto didn't. I was the first one in the springs, since I'd eaten on the road, and Naruto wanted to stuff himself before getting in."

Suigetsu snickers. "Man, stuffing yourself before getting in a nice hot bath is awesome."

"Yeah, Naruto thought so too." Not that I can blame him, we'd been on the road and training hard for a while before that. "So Naruto strips down, puts his towel on and showers, you know, the regular routine before getting in a hot spring. Only, he didn't figure out what the signs meant, so instead of going into the men's side, he accidentally came through to the women's side and saw me. It freaks him out so much that he actually slipped on a bar of soap, skidded twenty feet across the slick wooden floor and sent his towel flying, then toppled headfirst into the spring and right on top of me, pulling me down from where I was sitting and dunking us both. He knocked his head on the side and I had to drag him out and treat him for a mild concussion." It was embarrassing at the time, but at least there wasn't really anything for him to see. I was only fourteen and still flat as a board.

"No way!" Suigetsu cracks right up. "There's no way that could have happened. You can't be serious!"

"Oh, it happened. And that's not even the most embarrassing story." Though it does come pretty close. Of course, I've got way more than just that. "And then there was the time that Naruto actually thought he'd get cursed because we were at a shine, and he started jingling the bells so hard that a couple of them fell down and nearly bounced right off his head."

"Wow, and this is the guy who's gonna be the next Hokage?" Suigetsu shakes his head. "At least he's not boring, or got a stick so far up his ass that it would take Kabuto to surgically remove it."

"Ugh...Kabuto." Talk about a creepy ass guy. "I remember running into him. It's been a while, but I remember going toe to toe with him for a while, until he went and tried breaking my wings. Medical ninjutsu can be fun to wield, but it's no fun fighting it. He messed us both up pretty good before Lady Tsunade got herself together and Naruto kicked his ass."

Though, speaking of kicking ass...I'm starting to recognize the terrain around here. "We're close."

"Really?" Suigetsu bounds alongside me as we leave the trees behind and come out on top of a series of ridges. "Alright, what are we lookin' for?"

"Hm...first, the entrance to a mine..." I frown slightly as I survey the valleys and ravines, searching for the familiar entrance. I should be able to triangulate the position from there once I spot the mine and the graveyard. Now that brings back a few unpleasant memories.

"Karin lands just behind us and lowers her voice to a whisper. "Careful, there's people nearby. They're not ninja, but there's a few dozen of them."

"A few dozen?" That's ringing a few bells. "Then we're close to the mine. Which direction are you sensing them in?" It's nice that I don't have to do all the sensing work myself, especially since regular people are harder to detect than ninjas.

"Off to the north-east. Three o'clock." She points, just to make sure that I've got my direction. "About three hundred feet from here."

"Good." I peer just over the ridge and pick up a few signs of life. "Then maybe I'll say hi to Rokusuke and the others before we leave." It's been a while since I last saw them. We might even be able to drop in on Grandma Sancho, Karashi, and Ranmaru at the shop. I chuckle at the thought. _It would be funny to see how these four handle that curry._

 _Of course, if the mine is to the north-east, then we need to head west to the plateau._ I turn my gaze onto the rising cliffs at ten o'clock and nod. "Alright, then we go up those cliffs, and the gorge where Raiga vaporized himself should be just on the other side." Forget the Land of Rivers, though, this place should be called the Land of Cliffs. I swear that it's about all I can see from here.

"Alright, then let's go." This time, Suigetsu takes off without even waiting for me. Then again, I've gotten him basically the whole way here, so I can et him go on ahead for a bit. He'll figure out sooner or later that he needs me to actually pinpoint the place where Raiga's swords would have fallen.

"Suigetsu!" Karin screeches at him as she takes off behind him, also ignoring me. "Get back here, you idiot!"

I sigh and laugh tiredly. "Those two are going to make a great couple someday. Or at least funny to watch."

"Maybe if they don't kill each other first." Sasuke snorts derisively. "Come on, let's go."

I smirk at the tone of comman. "Yes, Captain. And what are the marching orders now?" Predictably, he glares at me, though I think I'm growing even more immune to the Uchiha glare. It's certainly not working now. "Right, I got it. Lead you to the swords so that we can pick up those two on the way." I should probably sass him less, but the look on his face just makes it so much fun. _Now I see why Naruto liked to do this. I'll have to tell him about this when I get home._

But as I take off towards the plateau, I frown. If I tell Naruto about this, then he's going to ask a lot of questions about Sasuke, especially if he doesn't come home with me. I glance at Sasuke, who now keeps pace with me, trailing only a couple of feet behind me. _Sasuke..._ I wonder if it's really possible for me to convince him to come home now. From what little I've gathered about what's going on, I doubt it'll be that easy. At least..for now.

I vault over the side of the cliff, landing squarely on my feet at the edge of the plateau. And it doesn't surprise me at all to find Suigetsu and Karin bickering. I haven't known them long, but I get the feeling that this is something they do a lot. There's..an energy to them that feels natural but practiced. But I suppose that's not what's important now. "You two done, or are we going looking for those swords after we have a picnic?"

"Hmph!" Karin crosses her arms and glares in a direction far away from Suigetsu. "It's this idiot's fault! Let's just grab the stupid swords and leave."

"Alright, then." I look around, closing my eyes halfway as I approach a small outcropping. "Tenten was hiding Ranmaru here...and Karashi was down the cliff with the curry...and Neji was..." I look around, letting my memories of the battle here overlap with the present. "Down the cliff as well, but before that, he was thirty meters from Tenten...and Lee was..." I move across the center of the plateau to the northern side. "He fought Raiga here with the Drunken Fist. And I was here..." I move to the dead Center of the plateau. "I dispelled the mist after Ranmaru tried to get Raiga to fall off the cliff. no then Naruto made his clones and chased Raiga..." I cast my eyes towards one of the higher ledges jutting out from the plateau. "There."

Jugo's eyes widen as he comes closer. "You remember all of that?"

"Of course." It was one of my more dangerous missions, so of course I remember a lot of the details. "I was the Chunin captain on this mission. no like usual, we ran into a lot more trouble than we were expecting. It was another C-Rank mission that got bumped up to A-Rank because of a pesky Mist ninja." I walk towards the cliff, remembering the moment that Raiga went over rather vividly. "Here's where he went over, which means that the swords should have fallen somewhere down there." I point down about two hundred feet into the ravine below.

"Alright, then let's get down there!" Suigetsu grins as he looks over the side of the cliff. "Ninja swords here I come!"

But I beat him to the punch, backing up several steps, before launching myself over the side of the cliff, flipping head over heels as I try to get as much distance as possible. My guess is that they fell into the river down there, so all I have to do is angle myself right, and I'll hit it without any difficulty.

The ground and the river race towards me as I take a deep breath, exhaling a huge burst of wind below me to cushion my fall. Then I burst the fusion and drop the last fifteen feet, landing right on the surface of the river. _Suzaku, help me._

 _...Of course, Chick._ On my command, my eyes start to warm, filling the world with exotic colours as the thermal vision takes hold. I race along the surface of the water, heading downstream and keeping my eyes peeled for objects in the water showing up darker than the rest.

When I spot two long, thin shapes in the water fifty feet ahead, I take another deep breath and make the plunge.

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

 _Damn her!_ Of all the reckless things she could have done, can't say that I really expected her to just jump over the side of a cliff. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time she's done it either, which makes it all the more aggravating.

"Shit! That chick's crazy!" Suigetsu stares over the side, shaking his head. "I mean, I knew she was weird but this is just.."

"Sasuke, should we follow her?" Jugo frowns as he glances back and forth between me and where Ciara went underwater.

"Hn." I step up to the edge of the cliff and drop down ten feet to a small, winding path that climbs up the side. She may like dropping two hundred feet into a ravine, but I'll pass.

It's a two minute trip to the bottom of the ravine, and even down here, the old signs of battle are apparent, just like on the plateau. _It must have been quite the battle..._ There's old scorch marks from lightning strikes, and parts of the cliffs look unnaturally carved out.

Suigetsu drops the last fifteen feet just behind me, peering around for my wayward jinchuuriki. "Alright, now where did she get off to?"

"She's..." Karin peers downstream a ways. "She's over there, underwater. She was moving away from us quickly for almost half a minute, but now she's...stopped."

 _She must be looking around on the bottom of the river for them._ I suppose they're less likely to have been picked up by travelers or other rogue ninja if they fell into the river and got washed downstream. "Then we wait for her to resurface." She's been down there for a couple of minutes already, so she should be coming up for air very soon.

I frown as the water starts to light up, even more when small bolts of lightning arc through it. _What the hell is she doing down there?_

"Ah! Sasuke, she's-" Karin points into the water. "She's moving again."

"Good." That means that she probably has the swords, which means we can finally leave this place.

The water calms, then ripples. And from the shadow moving beneath the surface, a glistening tanned hand emerges, clutching two glowing and steaming swords in her fingers. A soaking wet braid follows and Ciara pulls herself out of the river to sit calmly on its surface. She grins and holds the swords up above her head, sunburst eyes glowing brightly. "Found them!"

"Well, that's good." Jugo sighs beside me. "And it looks like she isn't hurt either."

"It takes more than jumping off a cliff to hurt her." And apparently more than lightning, too, which is good to know. Not that I'm not still annoyed that she pulled that without even warning me first. I glare only to receive one of those damn smiles in return. "Get over here."

She laughs and presses her hand to the surface of the water, raising herself the rest of the way out and flipping up and over onto the shore. "I told you that I knew where to find them." She flips them around as she strides towards us, offering the handles to Suigetsu. "Though if you don't use any lightning ninjutsu, I don't know how useful they're going to be. They conduct lightning so well that as soon as I touched them, they sparked me."

"Huh, really?" Suigetsu looks way too fascinated by her. "So you can use lightning just like Sasuke, huh?"

"Well..." She glances at me, smiling ruefully as steam swirls off her skin. "No, not quite like Sasuke. I've still got a long way to go before I achieve that level of mastery. But I can at least conduct it well enough through weapons to blast away the rocks that they'd gotten stuck under without damaging the blades, so there's that."

 _So...she's started learning how to manipulate lightning?_ I guess I must have missed a lot in the last few years. I knew that she was learning water style, but I hadn't heard a thing about the lightning. I can question her about that later, for now, we need to move. "You have them now, Suigetsu. We're leaving."

"Yeah, yeah, alright..." Suigetsu tucks them away into a couple of belt loops that he left open in the hopes that she was right about the swords. "Jeez, you're getting even more pushy than usual."

I narrow my eyes, but Ciara's laughter shatters my bad mood as she touches my arm. "Alright, just give me a few minutes to drop in on some old friends at the mine, then we can grab a bite to eat at a curry shop near here. We should make sure that we've got enough food and supplies before continuing on."

"...Hn." I roll my eyes and tug my arm away from her. Obviously I'm getting soft if I let her touch linger that long.

Her hand doesn't retreat, instead skimming lightly over my shoulder as she steps past me. "Follow me."

 _Definitely getting soft..._


	42. Painful Truths and Old Wounds

**Sorry Stormzz, no Naruto x Ciara for you, but I promise that the bffs will get some cuddle time later. After the news they're going to receive, they're going to need it.**

 **Also, a certain writing buddy convinced me to give all of you romance lovers out there a bit of a treat this chapter. I was going to do it next chapter instead, but it works into the plot this time around, so...yay!**

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

"I already said that I'm sorry." I'm caught between grimacing and laughing right now, especially since this really feels like déjà vu. "I had no idea that you were so sensitive to spicy food." It's been six hours, and Suigetsu is still grousing about it. He got the bright idea to try and steal some of my curry when we stopped in at the curry shop. Needless to say my volcanic tastes in curry did not agree with Suigetsu's delicate fishy palet.

"That wasn't spicy, that was death on a plate!" Normally, I might pity poor Suigetsu for his misfortune, but today, I'm pretty sure that he's learned a very valuable lesson when it comes to food.

"That should teach you not to steal other people's food, then." I smirk back over my shoulder at him. "Even Naruto knows better than to tangle with me about food. My tastes tend to run on the hotter side. And sometimes sweeter."

"But that almost burned my tongue off! It should come with a damn warning sign!" He opens up that canteen of his and takes another drink, his eleventh one in the last hour. I understand the whole turning to water thing and needing to keep hydrated now, but that seems like an excessive amount of water, even for that. Especially since we're nowhere near a desert.

I roll my eyes and take a flying leap off the next branch, twisting around upside down to look him in the eye. "It was bright red and bubbling. How was that not enough warning?"

"Suigetsu, shut up and drink your water." Sasuke glares back at the both of us, prompting me to turn back around and land on my feet for the next jump.

"Tch...you're getting even bossier with this chick around..." Suigetsu grumbles quietly as he sips at his water. "Bossy...annoying...pissy..."

"Okay..." If he's not careful, he really is going to get hit with lightning somewhere unpleasant. Sasuke's sense of humour doesn't strike me as having gotten any softer over the years. "So where are we heading, exactly?"

Sasuke glances at me, then back ahead. "South."

Well, that's helpful. "Okay, so away from the Hidden Rain. That's fine. But where exactly are you planning on taking me after that?" Because I see a few holes that I haven't heard him fill in yet. "You know that I have to go back to the village, and I know that you don't want to go anywhere near it." At least, for now. "So where does that leave us? Will you come back with me? Or are you planning on hiding me away?"

That shuts him up pretty effectively and everything goes dead quiet for several very long minutes. "...My only reason to go back would be to kill Danzo."

That's what I figured. "And I told you to hold off for a while so that I could get the evidence needed to cover you first." Because if what Sasuke said is really true, then I don't want Sasuke to suffer for taking out a criminal. "That's why I'm here, right? To help you take out the ones responsible for giving those orders..."

He nods almost imperceptibly. "You should be, after all, the Uchiha weren't the only ones who suffered."

I grit my teeth, unpleasant images coming to mind. Blood. Death. Suffering. "...I still don't have the roof yet, but if it's true, then yes, I will help you to remove his existence." No matter how unpleasant that task might be. "But apart from information, I assume that there's more you want from me."

"Yes." No surprise there. "...You said that you can use lightning? What else can you do?" Ah...so he wants a breakdown of my skills.

I can certainly give him a breakdown. I can only hope that he finds no fault with it. "As you know, my primary chakra natures are wind and fire, likely because of Suzaku's influence. But as part of my bloodline, I have natural attitudes for all five basic chakra natures, and I've spent the last three years working to develop them. I can use water, some earth, and Kakashi has been helping me to hone lightning. It's been proving tricky, but I'm starting to get the hang of it. If nothing else, I can definitely conduct it effectively."

"And you can use genjutsu?" It figures he would ask that.

"Yes." I touch my throat gently, humming softly. " I use auditory genjutsu. My songs have the ability to, among other things, paralyze and induce sleep. You already know about my resistance to genjutsu, and in the past few years, that's only gotten stronger. Short of a Mangekyo Sharingan, I haven't found any genjutsu strong enough to make it past Suzaku's chakra."

"Past his chakra?" Sasuke glances at me quizzically. "He gives you a resistance to genjutsu?"

"Mhm." It's something I learned back during my genjutsu training. "You know the principles of genjutsu well enough, I would guess. So imagine what would happen if you had another chakra source inside you that holds a delicate balance of co-existence with your own chakra, and could disrupt your chakra flow at the drop of a hat. Assuming that a genjutsu could get through my natural resistance, getting past him would be quite a feat."

I can feel his considering gaze on me, the silence stretching as he formulates his next question. "How have your medical abilities improved?"

Now, I smirk. "They've improved quite drastically. I can treat intense chakra wounds inflicted by Tailed Beast chakra, along with genjutsu-induced comas. Broken bones can be fused back together, skin and muscle knitted easily, and I've become a staple in the emergency room back in the village hospital. I also have the ability to impart chakra to others during battle. I'm not a poison exert like Sakura or Tsunade, but I can put together a decent selection of antidotes, antiseptics, and salves. I'm also working on a technique involving water style and aloe for treating burns."

Suigetsu snickers behind us, obviously done slurping down his water. "Careful, Karin. If you screw up, Sasuke might replace you with his demon lady over there."

I raise an eyebrow. "Demon lady?" Somehow, I feel like I missed something rather important. Or important to this conversation, at least.

"She's not a demon, Suigetsu. Now shut up." Sasuke directs a dark, menacing glare at his teammate. It's almost...cute to see him flashing his Sharingan for me.

Still, I'd better step in before either of them do something they'll regret. "Okay, knock it off, you two. It's fine, I'm not offended." And that's true enough, since I can tell that Suigetsu is just teasing us. Though...I'm still trying to clear up just what he's teasing about. He called me Sasuke's Demon Lady. Could he possibly think that Sasuke and I are...

I shake my head, dismissing the possibility. Of course, I'm not dismissing that he might be interpreting it that way, especially since Sasuke seems to have just decided to rescue me from the Akatsuki without properly explaining why to his team. Or maybe just not convincingly. Or maybe Suigetsu just wants to use me as easy ammunition.

Glancing back at Suigetsu, I smile softly. "I've been called worse by people who actually meant what they said. So Sasuke..." I turn an amused look on him.. "Your Demon Lady says to lighten up."

His glare intensifies. "You want me to lighten up while we're trying to get as far away from the Akatsuki as possible?"

Well, that's a sobering thought. "Point taken." I drop the smile, staring on ahead. "What else do you want to know?"

"Suzaku, what powers does he have?" Ah, so now he's finally getting to one of the elephants.

"Let me guess...he didn't tell you very much." Judging by Sasuke's silence, I'd say I got that in one. "He is a spirit of wind and fire, like I said. He has ten flaming tails and wings that drip fire. He rests deep within me, where he sits on a bottomless lake inside my mind. when he manifests his power through me, I gain wings, tails, feathers in my hair, and I gain the ability to fly, a reservoir of what feels like limitless power, and increasingly powerful wind and fire style ninjutsu." It's a rush to feel his power flowing through me, it always is.

"His voice also makes my genjutsu more powerful when he speaks through me. His regenerative abilities are, as far as I'm aware, superior to any of the other Tailed Beats, and I benefit from that power in my own medical ninjutsu. And when in need of protection, his wings can wrap around me and form a chakra-resistant barrier between me and my attackers." That kind of barrier isn't perfect, of course. The biggest weakness of it is the time it takes for the feathers to interlock and harden. "And then there's his eyes, which can give me enhanced colour vision and thermal vision. Beyond all of that, I'm still learning about his abilities."

"Hn." And that particular monosyllabic answer, I interpret to mean that he's not particularly pleased that I still haven't figured out everything about Suzaku yet, but that he's tentatively fine with the number of abilities I've listed so far, and therefore he's not going to complain.

Then all goes quiet again, until his voice hardens in an accusatory tone. "You never told me."

"Never told you what, exactly?" There's a lot of things that I haven't told to a lot of people. At this point, I should probably start keeping track of all of my secrets and who I'm not telling them to written down somewhere just so that I don't slip up. "I've got a lot of secrets from a lot of people."

Onyx eyes peer at me, and I can see the same unforgiving light in them that I can hear in his voice. "We went on missions, took the Chunin Exams, and trained together, and not once did you decide to mention that you knew my brother."

Ah...that secret. Though, to be fair, I didn't tell anyone at all that I knew Itachi. It hurt too much. "...First of all, I didn't know that you were brothers until I saw you together at the inn. I knew that Itachi had a little brother, but he never said your name, or if he did, I was too young to remember it. He also never brought you to visit, so the first time that we met was at the academy, so I only heard about your family being killed. You never said his name, so I didn't know that you knew Itachi so personally. Heavens forbid that Sasuke Uchiha actually talk about family and feelings. Not to mention that you and Naruto were always focused on each other, so in those few times that you and I were alone, I just had no reason to bring up the name of someone who, for all I knew, had already...died..." The words dig at my heart, cutting it open so that it can start bleeding all over again.

 _It hurts...I miss him...them...I want Itachi and Shisui back so much..._

I blink back the tears that threaten to start coursing down my cheeks. "And then...when I found out that he was the one you wanted to kill...how could I possibly tell you? How could I tell you wanted to murder one of the most precious people in my life? I was shocked enough that Itachi was one of the people coming after me and Naruto, but with your intentions on top of that...how could I just casually bring up that one of my babysitters was an S-class criminal and a member of the Akatsuki who murdered hundreds of people in one night?" Because that's totally a topic that someone could just bring up in casual conversation. "You would have hated me too, or called me delusional. But you wouldn't have believed me even if I told you that Itachi wouldn't have just done what he did on a whim." It was a no-win situation.

I laugh derisively, scoffing at the thought of that conversation. "And how would you have taken it, anyway? Hey, Sasuke, your brother and cousin used to babysit me every week. I just thought that you should know that Itachi's actually a good person who loves me, and he couldn't have ever done something that terrible because I don't believe that Itachi could ever be that evil. I know that he would never do any of that stuff because he wanted to. Someone must have made him do it. He even left me his ANBU mask and his and Shisui's shortswords to protect myself with when he visited me for the last time in the hospital. Would someone evil do that?" I shake my head. "You were still on your quest for revenge. You never would have heard me out. You would have just written off anything I had to say as the ramblings of an outsider who didn't know anything."

Everything goes deadly silent, I don't even hear Sasuke breathing at all. The tiny crack of the branch as he comes to a stop is deafening in comparison. I land on the branch just ahead of him, turning enough to look back. The expression on his face is inscrutable, implosive to read.

His lips move first. "Karin, Jugo, Suigetsu, scout on ahead and see if there are any places to rest for tonight."

"Sasuke?" Jugo looks between the two of us uncertainly. "...What's going on?"

"Go." Sasuke's voice is a command that brooks no dissent. "We will meet the three of you in fifteen minutes."

The ginger giant watches the two of us uncertainly, but takes off nonetheless with Karin and Suigetsu in tow, disappearing from sight through the thick trees. I can't blame him for being worried, what with the tone Sasuke is using. But I'm not. I've never been scared of Sasuke, and I never will.

Not even when my back slams up against the closest tree trunk, both hands pinned above my head, and a sliver of silver gleams at my throat. A crackle of lightning arcs across it, carrying with it a deadly promise. "Talk. What have you not told me?" Ruby eyes flash angrily at me, but I can see the pain, the hurt, the sense of betrayal in their depths. And seeing that pain...softens my own, just a little.

I sigh, tilting my head back slightly, resting my chin against the flat of his blade. "You mean about how Itachi's mandated mission from the Akatsuki included bringing me in to be killed, even though he decided to let me go instead? Or how he sought me out just before Gaara died, coming to apologize for all the pain I was suffering? Is it my guilt you want to hear about? My utter failure as a medic to save one of the people I love the most?" That was honestly what broke my heart the most. "...When I heard that the two of you were fighting...I left behind everyone who was on the retrieval team and raced to where you were. I...didn't make it in time to save Itachi. Only you..."

The blade presses up against my throat, nearly slicing into my skin. "But you still didn't tell me. If I'd known what Itachi had really done, he might still be-"

"He was sick, Sasuke..." Which is why I feel so much guilt for his passing, why I wish...I wish so much that I could turn back the clock and act on what I know now. If I could, then maybe I could have gotten him treatment. Maybe I could have saved him. "You think I haven't been down this road already? The what if's? Maybe if I'd done things differently, Itachi might still be alive. Maybe if I'd screamed the truth at you, you might have stopped your vendetta and actually listened to me. Maybe if I'd left Kimimaro to Naruto and been the one to follow you to that valley instead...maybe then I could have beaten the sense into you that Naruto couldn't..." I lean into the blade, not bothered at all when it cuts shallowly into my skin, dripping blood slowly down my throat. "Maybe...if I'd run after him at that inn...maybe he woul have taken me away somewhere safe, and I could have seen the symptoms early and saved him." Sasuke is naive if he thinks that I haven't already tortured myself with the maybes...the what if's...

I smile because I have to, because if I don't I'll fall to pieces. And while there's still danger threatening the people I love, I can't fall apart. But right now, I can't bring myself to smile. It's all too raw, it hurts too much. I want to scream, but my voice won't leave my throat. I want to cry, but I feel too exposed, too unsafe. I want to fall into a dark place and never crawl back out. I want to hide..so that my broken heart won't be shattered again. Again and again...and again...

But here I am, staring into furious ruby eyes shining with pain and rage and sadness and loneliness. The confusion in those depths screams to know why. The rage roars that this is unfair. The sadness cries of regret and shame. And the loneliness...the loneliness is silent, frozen...dark and cold.

And now...now I know why he's so angry. He's angry because he's swamped with shame and regret, and he just wants someone or something else to blame. I know...because I feel my own mountain of shame and regret weighing heavily on my heart. And all we have right now to blame is each other for not acting sooner. "Sasuke..." I can''t let him keep hurting like this. "It's not your fault...Itachi took it upon himself to set everything up, to set you up to end his life, even if it didn't turn out the way he planned. He...ended things on his own terms...even if it's not what either of us wanted." Based on what Sasuke has said, and what I know of Itachi...I know that much to be true. If it weren't, he would have let me treat him when I first noticed his illness. He would never have let it get this far and left us both so alone. "You're...not the only one who misses him."

His gaze hardens for a moment, and I can feel him withdrawing back into a protective shell. "Hn." The blade against my neck slips away, and he sheathes the chokuto with barely a sound. His hand releases my wrists, letting them fall away from where he held them against the rough bark.

As he casts his eyes away, I reach up with one hand, not minding the tiny scratches and welts rom the rough treatment. I place my hand behind his head, turn him back towards me, and note that he's only a couple of inches taller than me now as I guide his head towards me and press a kiss to his forehead. "Please don't disappear into the darkness again...not without me there to pull you back out."

He pulls away, glaring at me slightly. "Ciara stop it with all of your damn kissing, I don't want you to-" But I tune out his words as my chakra pulls my attention off towards the north, where I can sense someone approaching. With Sasuke pinning me up against a tree, I'd has more than enough stillness and connection with nature to spread out my sensory range. And now, there's someone tripping it. Someone I don't like.

"Sasuke, be quiet." I pull him back towards me, my gaze flicking about as I search for whoever has decided to crash our party. "Whatever you do, don't act like anything is wrong."

He narrows his eyes, catching on quicker than I expected. "What's going on?"

"We've been followed." I take a deep breath and sink back against the tree, hiding myself in Sasuke's shadow. "I'll leave a clone here, but I need you to distract them."

* * *

"Sasuke's P.O.V.

What? Whatever is going on now, I don't like it. I like it even less when she splits herself in two, her original body taking off into the upper branches of the trees, her chakra all but disappearing from sight.

"Sasuke." The clone draws my attention back, eyes shining just like hers do. If I didn't know this was a clone, I really wouldn't be able to tell the difference. "It's one of the Akatsuki. Just one. We should get ready to fight. They'll be in range in two minutes."

 _Just one? But the Akatsuki work in..._ No, I can think of one member of that group that doesn't drag a partner everywhere. _Madara..._ He's the talkative type, but doesn't attack outright, even when provoked. _In that case..._ "Don't move."

She blinks, shifting a little, an anxious light in her eyes. "You have a plan, then? Where do you need me to be?" She tilts her right foot, as if ready to move in an instant.

"Right here." I shift my traveling cloak further back on my shoulder, concealing my chokuto and the hand poised to grab it just in case. But maybe Suigetsu has a point for once. And if nothing else, this might surprise Madara into stopping to taunt or reprimand me.

"Sasuke?" She frowns as I wrap my free arm around her waist and press her back against the tree.

"Just be quiet and let me do the talking." At the very least, I'll have to be prepared to defend her and put on a good show. _If Suigetsu sees this, I'm never going to hear the end of it..._ Not that I care as I cover her lips with mine and silence any protest she might have come up with.

I can feel her make a sharp inhalation, but the surprise comes in how quickly she responds. Her arms slide over my shoulders and under my cloak, pulling at the high collar of my shirt and tugging me in a little closer. _She catches on quickly._ If I didn't know better, I'd almost say she was enjoying it. Except that even as her soft lips move, I can feel her preparing a handful of shuriken behind my back.

It's just a whisper in the breeze that tips me off. I wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't been waiting for it. But I pretend to hear nothing and move my lips to just below her ear, biting down there, then drifting down to lick the little drops of blood from her neck, the only proof that my sword ever touched her skin at all.

"Well, well, Sasuke...I knew that the young could be foolish, but you've managed to surprise even me." He's not even trying to change his voice this time, which means he doesn't care that Ciara can hear him at all. "Eloping with a jinchuuriki? Is this your master plan for killing Danzo?"

I twitch, and I feel her tense up beneath me. So I nip the lobe of her ear, tugging on it to get her attention. "Don't move yet." On the other hand, his voice irritates me as I turn my attention from her skin, where I note with a slight smirk that there's a dark red mark left behind, and turn my Sharingan on him. "Madara..." I move the hand around her waist to my side, raising it slightly in case I misjudged him and he does decide to attack.

The masked man watches us, his Sharingan clearly visible through the hole in his mask. "Come now, Sasuke. You didn't really think that I would just let you waltz out with one of my sacrifices like that. I promised you the power of the Tailed Beasts, yes, but they'll do you no good if they're still locked inside their hosts."

"So you say." But I won't be buying that lie again. "This one is more use to me alive than dead."

"Oh? Then what of your plans? Do you really think she'll go along with them so easily?" He sounds so sure, so...annoying. "I think you overestimate how persuasive you can be, Sasuke."

She shifts slightly in my grasp, leaning her head closer to my chest as she turns to get a better look at him. "Don't listen to him. He could never even pretend to know my mind." That much, I can see easily. After all, he's the one underestimating her now.

"Sasuke!" _Damn it, Suigetsu!_ "The hell's going on here!?" He lands not far behind us, perching on a branch just within my peripheral vision. "...Is...something going on here that we should know about?"

We, meaning he brought Karin and Jugo back with him as well. _Fuck..._ I release Ciara's clone from my grip and take a step forward, putting myself face to mask with Madara. "You three need to get out of here, now." _Maybe his sentimentality will spare me, but I doubt he feels that attached to Taka._

"Oh? Are you prepared to fight me, Sasuke?" He tilts his head slightly, as though amused with my actions. "You know that won't go well for you. I have the power of seven of theTailed Beasts under my command."

 _Seven?_ "Don't you mean eight?" Whatever Ciara is doing, she'd better do it fast, or I'm going to put an end too her plan before she can put it into action.

"Oh, that...no, it seems that the Eight-Tails got away." _What?_ "You failed, Sasuke. The Eight-Tails pulled a fast one on you. What you brought back was nothing more than a clone." And somehow...he doesn't sound at all bothered by the fact that our mission failed.

"So it's true..." For some reason, Ciara seems unsurprised by that news. "That's why I never..." but she goes silent again. I'll have to pay that out of her later, along with a thousand other things.

"Now." Madara sits on the upper branch, peering at us lazily. "Hand over the Ten-Tails peacefully, Sasuke. I wouldn't want to have to kill you."

So much for his sentimentality sparing me.

Jugo lands on the same thick bough as us, glancing at me warily. "Sasuke, what do we do?"

"We've cut ties with the Akatsuki. We have no business with him." And I'm certainly not handing Ciara back to him to be killed. "It's five against one, so if he thinks he can take us..." Then he's in for quite the surprise.

The tension in the air thickens as Suigetsu and Jugo prepare to fight. Over these past few months with them, I've become acutely aware of their battle tactics and the flow with which they fight. The same goes with Karin's support. The one I can't predict...

"Sasuke..." His voice is condescending, patronizing, like he's talking to a damn child. "One of Itachi's missions with the Akatsuki...was to bring in the demon that you're protecting right now. What would he think if he saw you now?"

 _He's wrong. Itachi never threatened to bring her in. If he had...she'd be dead now._ My hand shakes with fury as I grasp my chokuto. "Don't you dare-"

But a giant flash of light propels Madara straight I tot he ground, where the impact is so powerful that it creates a fifteen foot crater in the solid earth. "Don't you DARE talk about my uncle like that!" A second flash of light and a veritable hurricane of energy slams down on top of the crater, tripling the size in half a second. "Fuck!"

I peer into the swirling dust with my Sharingan, only finding one chakra signature as the clone behind me pops out of existence. _Ciara..so that was your plan._ She used me as a distraction so that she could launch an attack from behind. A basic tactic, but when applied properly... _But where's Madara...?_

The dust blows away, revealing Ciara down in the crater, fiery eyes taking in everything around her, searching for Madara just as I am. "Damn it.." She definitely hit him, he went flying and created the first crater. but his energy is no longer down there, and his body isn't either. Which means that he's still alive and kicking.

"Insolent child." A hacking cough cuts through the silence and draws my attention down towards the ground. And I can't help but smirk when I see blood running down his front. "What do you think you've done?"

Ciara turns slowly, no longer cursing or shaking with anger, just...cold. "Medical ninjutsu. It's handy in a fight for keeping your team together. But sometimes you use chakra scalpels in surgery to cut into the deep tissue with greater precision than a metal one." Her hands glow and her gaze remains flat and cold. "In battle, they're great for scrambling up your opponent's internal organs and causing massive internal haemorrhaging." Her hands glow, moving fluidly like...like the Hyuga's Gentle Fist taijutsu style.

"Hm...if you believe that I would fall to such insignificant attacks..."

"I didn't." She turns towards me, a lively glint in her eyes as she disappears from view and reappears right in front of me, her hair undone and flying wildly in the wind as she picks mr an Jūgo up, almost without effort. A tail feather shoots from her back to grab Suigetsu and pull him in as a mass of feathers erupts grain her back, closing off all view of Madara as a brighter explosion, dozens of times bigger than the last rips through the trees.

...There is no chance of letting her just walk away now.

We hit the ground again, and she released us gently, backing away slightly as flames engulf most of her body. The feathers in her hair and the wings in her back disappear into those flames, leaving only her image, still lightly cloaked in fire. "Damn it...he got away."

It takes only a glance past her and down into the mess of charred trees and ashy ground to know that she's right. There's no sign of Madara, only a tiny puddle of boiled and burned blood.

"Holy...SHIT!" Suigetsu's eyes widen at the destruction below. "Where the hell did you learn to breathe fire like THAT?"

"On a road trip with a perverted old sage and my knuckle-headed best friend." She sighs, dissatisfaction written all over her face. "How the fuck did he get away?"

I'm not sure, but that's something we'll have to find out later. "Jugo, Karin, did you find anything up ahead that we can use for shelter?"

The way the two of them exchange a glance puts me on my guard. "Well...sort of." Karin shifts her glasses nervously. "But I wouldn't recommend it. It's...not a normal kind of place there's just something about it that..it wouldn't even let us get close."

Jugo's gaze darkens. "There were symbols on the door, like a language, but I couldn't read it. Neither could Karin..."

"Symbols?" Ciara's gaze drifts off into the trees, towards where I sent Taka. "What...kind of symbols? Could you draw them out?"

Jugo glances at me, so I nod once and he goes to work, drawing them in bark of the closest tree with a kunai. They do look old, and I think I can make out a few of them, they're similar to the ones I saw on the stone tablets so long ago. "Shrine to..."

"Shrine of The Voice of the Sun and Moon. May glory descend from the heavens and protect those under this divine beast's care. Approach with a gift and pure intent, for those with hearts filled with evil will be struck down." Ciara approaches the carvings, almost in a daze. She touches them, letting her hand fall to one circular carving that looks like the face of a monster in the rough bark. "That's..."

"What is it?" I don't like being left out of the loop, so if she has something to say, I want to hear it. "Why do you recognize the writing, and what does it mean?"

Unexpectedly, she smiles softly, gently, a genuine smile. "It means...that we'll be staying in this shrine for now. We'll be safe there."

Karin huffs impatiently. "And what about the barrier?"

"It's probably a blood seal, so I can get us through it." Her hands run over the face carved into the bark.

I narrow my eyes, suspicious of her lack of explanation. "How?"

A spark dances in her eyes and she sighs, her expression growing almost...lonely. "Because this is a dragon's shrine. And they protect their own."

 _I have a bad feeling about this..._

"We protect our own."


	43. Wards of the Dragon

**Lol, getting ahead again, huh Mikan? Most of the family pictures are at the main temple, her house, not an ancient shrine out in the Land of Rivers. That said, you gave me a great idea and I'm gonna see how well I can roll with it, likely next chapter.**

 **And girani, thanks a bunch! I really do try to create good characters and fan fiction is my proving ground for their development. I'm trying to find the right combinations of personality traits and complex beliefs and backstory that I need for my own novels. So that approval is really encouraging.**

 **Now, what's important for this chapter is the replication of Shinto shrine rituals that I thought would fit nicely into place here. Oh, and the dragon. Let's not forget him, shall we?**

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

Sasuke and his companions are almost eerily silent as Jugo and Karin lead the way towards this shrine they found. Usually, if I talked about this kind of stuff, Naruto would be on me in an instant, asking every question that pops into his head. And even Sasuke has been interrogating me a lot lately. So for him to just go silent like that is...unsettling.

"It's just up ahead." And thank the gods that Jugo finally breaks the silence, because I seriously thought that I was going to start losing my sanity.

"Good. Is there anything else you noticed about the place that I should know about?" I doubt that there's going to be anything dangerous lying in wait for us, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Especially when it's been at least eleven or twelve years since the last time someone in my family has been here.

There's a moment of silence before Karin pipes up. "There's something...weird about the energy that I noticed. It felt almost like chakra but also too...clean?"

"Too pure." Jugo nods, closing the distance between us as he slows down to let a couple of birds perch on his shoulder. "And too alive. I almost expected the trees to start talking to us."

"Yeah...as soon as the trees start talking, I'm outta here." Suigetsu snorts loudly. "I'm not dealing with that kind of shit. I signed up to fight, not deal with some weird chakra voodoo."

"It's not chakra voodoo." But it's been a while since I last felt the kinds of sensations they're talking about. And I think...one of the books I read through mentioned something like that. "It's probably the life-force left behind on the holy ground. Shrines are supposed to be holy places, places to honour powerful beings."

"They're places to honour gods, and the smaller ones to honour ancestors." It surprises me a little to hear Sasuke finally break his silence, but it figures that he would know about that much. I doubt there's a clan out there that doesn't have a family shrine. He probably learned the proper rites when he was a child. "...But why would there be a shrine that you recognize out here in the Land of Rivers."

That's a good question, and I've asked similar questions of myself before. "I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I know that there's shrines and temples that I've recognized here and there while traveling. I've been doing some reading, and if the shrine looks the way I think it does, I'll have a more concrete answer for you."

But Sasuke is just full of questions today, and I suppose it was naive to think that the interrogation might end there. "...Then tell me, is it true that your ancestors are gods left over from ancient wars between them and demons?" That...was a question I was definitely NOT expecting him to ask.

I glance back over my shoulder, not bothering to conceal my shock. "Where did you hear that from?"

Dark eyes watch me blankly. "...From the Akatsuki you just sent packing. He told me many things about your clan's history."

So it seems, because what are supposed to be clan secrets are clearly not so secret anymore. "I see." It looks like he's still going to have questions for me. "...Once we're inside the shrine, I'll answer whatever questions you still have for me." At the very least, he's been asking me in short bursts, and not using a constant interrogation since freeing me.

"Hn." I take that to mean that he is in agreement, since he doesn't press any further for now.

Speaking of pressing further, it looks like we won't have to press any further now. I can hear the trees and flowers singing in my bones. It's...a difficult sensation to describe, but it's almost like melodies played on the breeze and in the water are bounding through my blood, courtesy of the plants here that just feel so incredibly alive. "We're here."

As soon as I stop and drop from the branches to the ground, the four of them follow me, Jugo and Karin most closely. "Yeah, this is definitely the place. It gives me the same weird vibes as before."

I can't help but smile as I see stone steps marking the trail up from a winding path. Now those are pretty familiar. They remind me so much of home. "So, you couldn''t get in, is that right?"

"That's right, there's a barrier ahead that kept us out." Jugo points towards the stairs. "It's just at the top of the steps." And instead of looking to Sasuke, he looks to me. "What do we do now?"

I blow out a breath and jump down, landing at the base of the steps. "We keep moving." I can feel the humming in my blood growing stronger with every step, calling me up the steps towards the temple. The breeze picks up a little, and I can hear the tinkle of chimes in the wind. This is a good, safe place.

Step by step, we approach the temple. The torii gate stands tall and proud, coloured with a vivid fiery scarlet at the top of the steps. And even from here, I can sense something strange and familiar about it. There's no torii gates marking the stairs of the estate, but there's an energy about it that I know I've felt before.

Karin's fingers brush my arm lightly. "Right there. The barrier stops at that gate."

"That's where it stops?" It seems fitting, actually. Instead of a physical barrier at the gate, it's a chakra barrier. Or close enough to it that it sure feels like chakra. At the top of the torii, the crest depicting the head of a dragon is carved, and along the pillars, the shrine's dedication.

Suigetsu taps that giant sword of his against his shoulder and stares at the gate. "So what do we do? Swing a sword at it? Dance? Tell it a joke or something?"

"Are you stupid, Suigetsu!" Karin's sudden shriek hurts my ears as she grabs Suigetsu and drags him away from the gate. "Are you trying to get us struck by lightning or something!?"

Somehow, this doesn't strike me as the kind of place where lightning is a concern. "No, the place for dancing should be the main courtyard, not at the gate." Though I doubt this place has had a priestess tending it in a very long time. From here, I can see the giant bells along the front of the shrine, coupled with red, white, and gold ribbons for pulling. "I doubt that swinging a sword would leave a dent in anything, though if any of you wants to start telling jokes, I doubt that whoever is watching this place would mind too much." Admittedly, we're likely the most interesting things that the dragon connected to this shrine has seen in at least a decade.

"How do we get in?" As usual, Sasuke's query is fairly short and to the point.

"Hm..." I reach my hand out towards the gate, feeling it grow hotter by the second. Not uncomfortably so, but it's obvious that there''s something there, even if it's not explicitly trying to keep me out. "I think it wants an offering."

"An offering?" Jugo frowns. "But we didn't bring anything with us to leave at a shrine."

"Not that kind of offering." I reach into my pack and draw out a kunai, placing the edge of the blade against my left palm. "It's like the seals back in my home, the high level sealing ninjutsu that keep our most sensitive information locked away from the eyes of outsiders." For our protection, of course. Not that it did us any good in the end, because clearly, someone got hold of the secrets of the sealing formula that created the barrier on the mountain. Though the one here seems to be completely intact.

I drag the kunai across my palm, drawing a splash of blood that coats my skin in a vivid crimson glow. Chakra rises the the surface as I press my hand to the barrier, the energy crackling and snapping like lightning through cold water. Instead of breaking, the barrier shoots a blast of energy through me, and instantly, I understand. It's an almost instinctual thought, more like a memory than a consciously reached conclusion.

As I withdraw my hand, Jugo puts a tentative hand on my shoulder. 'It's okay if it didn't work, you gave it your best shot."

Suigetsu grumbles loudly. "So what now? If we can't stay in there, then we'll have to find somewhere else to go."

"No we don't." I smile softly, almost laughing at the obvious simplicity of it. How could I have been so stupid? "A dragon...protects their own. The barrier is reacting to the four of you, because it doesn't recognize you." But I have a sneaking suspicion that if it were Naruto or Akito or Hiro, they wouldn't be kept out like this. I've basically claimed them as mine, what with all of the times I've poured chakra into-

"What are you talking about?" Jugo's hand starts to move away, but I grab it before it can, surprising him. "What's going on?"

I turn his large palm over in mine and smear my blood across his skin, then shoot a spike of my chakra into his chakra network. "Try it now." I look up at him, then at the barrier. "The barrier might let you through now."

"Hey, what did you just do?" Suigetsu stares semi-accusingly at me. Then his violet gaze falls on Jugo, who takes a tentative step forward and slips through the barrier unimpeded this time. "Whoa! What the hell did you just do!?"

"Come here and I'll show you." I step towards him and tug him by the arm, leaving a trace of blood on his skin and a jolt of chakra in his system. Then I push him towards the barrier and turn to Karin. "You next."

Fortunately, she's a lot easier to deal with, and holds her hand out for me with only a single prompt. Funny, considering that she was the one putting up the most stink about my being here in the first place. I smile at the thought. My how things change... When she steps through the barrier just behind Suigetsu, her eyes widen. "This place is incredible..."

"Yeah, I imagine it is." If it's anything like home, then it's bound to be incredible in there. I turn to Sasuke, finding him standing right beside the barrier, examining it with his Sharingan. I can't help but smirk a little. "Trust you to be more interested in the barrier than the shrine grounds."

"Hn." He's back to being inarticulate again. And here I think I preferred the interrogation he was running on me earlier.

Still, he's the only one left to send through the barrier. "Sasuke." I hold out my hand to him expectantly. "Let's go."

He glances at it once before grasping my hand in a tight grip. Sasuke's years of training with lightning and his chokuto are obvious in the callouses lining his hands, but they're still a bit smoother than one might expect.

I let chakra pour into him where our palms touch, then take a step back across the threshold of the barrier and through the shrine gate, pulling him along with me and into the shrine grounds. The barrier hums and glows as though wrapping around us in welcome instead of keeping us out. Reluctantly, I loosen my grip on his warm hand. Sasuke never really was one for being touchy-feely, so I've always relied on Naruto for that. But I still wish that he wasn't so contact averse.

Surprisingly, his grip tightens momentarily, before loosening and pulling away. His Sharingan fades from his eyes, leaving them coloured like a couple of dark onyx gems. That gaze lingers on me for a moment, before turning on the temple as he moves to rejoin his team.

With the four of us safely inside the barrier, I finally take the chance to look around at this place. It's...beautiful. It reminds me of home, but there's a lot that's different about it, too. Unlike my three-story home, this one is only a single story, but the outer hall that wraps around it is very much the same. But this place looks like it was built from local wood, and not the same kind as my house was. And there's no windows, which is honestly a shame. Though the flowers growing wildly up the sides and across the grounds are rather pretty. The temperate climate here has allowed the poppies and magnolias to grow wildly.

But the biggest visual difference is at the front of this place, in front of the doors leading inside, are the bells to ring to summon the one who dwells inside. Or so the stories and rites say. I've never actually tested it for myself, but there have been a few instances where Jiraiya, that old pervert, has warned Naruto to be careful with shrine bells. He seems to think that if you pull one down, you'll get cursed.

Well, I suppose that if someone pulled on my bells, I might get a little huffy too.

My gaze travels to the fountain lying off to the side of the main shrine. My feet carry me there, only to find it empty and coated with a thick layer of dust and leaves. I touch the bottom and pick up a few of the leaves, but they crumble between my fingers.

 _No one has been here for a very long time..._ It's sad, but since this place has probably been locked up for the last decade, I guess it's only to be expected that no one would be here to tend the shrine. But there's little damage to it, so it can't have been that much longer, or the wood would be rotting.

I pick the ladle up from inside the fountain, where it was probably blown by the wind. My eyes rake over it as my cheeks puff up. A gentle breeze escapes my lips, picking up the dust and dirt and leaves, scrubbing them from the bottom and sides, then swirling them all into the air and onto the ground. My fingers press to my lips and a stream of pure, clean water escapes them, striking the bottom of the fountain and splashing up against the stone sides as it fills with sparkling water.

Once full, I use the ladle to wash my hands and set the wooden instrument back down on the side of the fountain. I stride across the shrine grounds to the front of the small wooden building and stop before the bells. Wrapping my right hand in the ribbons of one, I pull on it and let the clear sound of a brass bell ring through the air.

I can't help but smile as I bow, remembering a few instances of doing this with Naruto while we traveled with Jiraiya. Visiting the shrines were always nice. They were very peaceful, just like this one.

My eyes close and I take a deep breath. _You, who are the voice of the sun and stars, please grant us your protection as we come to rest here. One of your children comes to you from far away, and under threat of attack with companions who've need of your home to recuperate from travel and battle. I am Ciara, daughter of Ryouta, granddaughter of Daisuke, and great-granddaughter of Naomi._

A soft, gentle breeze wraps around me, warm and kind, before disappearing as I open my eyes. _Taiyo to Hoshi no Koe..._ I clap twice, smile, and press my hand to where the name is engraved once more at the entrance to the shrine. _I wonder which one you are?_

I step past the bells and to the doors of the shrine, fitting my fingers into the indentations and sliding the doors open to let the sun into the shrine. And unlike the dusty outside, it's both a surprise ad not to find no dust inside at all. Of course, if this place had been cleaned right before being closed up, it would make sense, after all...dust is mostly made of human skin and the dirt we track in. But still, the level of preservation is...exactly what we need.

I remove my shoes and lay them just before the bottom step, then stride inside the shrine. Though it looked plain but beautiful on the outside, the inside is filled with ornamental sculpture carved into the walls, stands holding oil lamps, and a table for leaving food offerings right in front of a giant golden statue of a dragon. Its tail wraps around the room, and I run my hand along the smooth metal as I walk my way around the room and towards the statue.

Twice as tall as I am, and set to lean over whomever approaches, the dragon statue is a bit intimidating at first. But it's expression is almost...welcoming. I could swear that it's smiling at me. _Okay, that's kinda weird, the statue is grinning at me._

I wonder if that thought counts as blasphemy?

Shaking the silly thought off, I wind my way around the statue, examining it and running my hands all over it. Somehow, I get the feeling that... He? I think that this dragon is a male. But I doubt that he minds the touching all that much.

My fingers find an etching on the dragon's back, carved carefully, cleanly into the metal. I put myself up to get a better look at it, and I recognize the old characters there. "Kazu...hiko?" I frown slightly. _Is that...his name?_ I'm not entirely sure, but I think that this dragon's name is Kazuhiko. But also Taiyo to Hoshi no Koe. _Two names?_ I feel like I've seen this somewhere before. But I can't remember where.

 _It is his birth name, Chick._ Suzaku's voice echoes softly through my head. _The tome containing the ritual of name-giving is tucked away in your scrolls._

 _It is?_ I know that I brought a lot of books with me, especially the ones I unsealed, since I'm still working out how to put the seal back in place. But if there's a mystery here to be solved, then maybe solving it will provide some of the answers I'm looking for.

"Hey...you know, I'm not an expert on visiting shrines or anything, but I'm pretty sure that you're not supposed to climb on the statues." I glance over the dragon's back at Suigetsu, who's watching me in a wary fashion. "You really are asking for it, you know."

The suggestion brings a smile to my lips. "I don't think Kazuhiko honestly minds that much. Tatsuo and Sumire used to pick me up all the time, and Dad always let me crawl all over him." Come to think of it, all of my aunts and uncles used to pick me up a lot.

"Kazuhiko?" Sasuke frowns slightly, his eyes staring at where I am on the dragon's back.

"That's his name." I slide off his back and touch down silently. "It's inscribed on the back of the statue." The statue that I'm starting to suspect is made entirely of gold, and whose shrine was built around it, since there's no way it would have been able to fit through the front door.

Jugo steps inside, leaving his shoes at the entrance, just like Suigetsu and Sasuke did, followed closely by Karin. "I thought that you said it was a shrine for someone called 'The Voice of the Sun and Stars'?"

"I did. And that hasn't changed." Even if I'm still not entirely clear on this, I think I've got a basic understanding down. "But his given name is Kazuhiko. So I guess people were given extra names back...then?" I should probably find out just how old this shrine is, or at least how far back in the family tree Kazuhiko is. "I still need to do a little research, but I have some books with me that should clear that up pretty fast."

What's most important is that we now have a place to stay. "Come on, there's a few more rooms to this place, so let's find a place to set up that's not in the main hall." Not that I think Kazuhiko would be angry if we decided to sleep under his nose, but I get the feeling that it might freak Suigetsu out if we were to sleep under a giant dragon statue.

"Right." Sasuke places his hand to one of the door flanking the statue and slides it open, frowning slightly. "There's space back here."

"Good." I glide past him into the room behind the statue, and instead of finding an empty storage room, I find a few rather familiar structures. Namely a circular metal structure on legs set off to the side, and a square hole in the floor lined with stone. I approach it and kneel, wiping at the stone and coming away with a white and black powder on my fingers. It's very old, but I'd know this powder anywhere. "Ash."

"A fire pit?" Sasuke approaches, eyeing the stone pit critically, then the metal contraption. "A cooking pit."

"Yeah." And I'm not surprised in the least. "We have a couple of rooms like this back home. That metal stand is for holding a pot." And it looks like it's just the right size for one of the old pots I brought with me, tucked away in one of my storage scrolls.

Suigetsu ambles inside and glances around the room. "So, we'll be sleeping in here, then?"

"We could, yes." And I think it would be a good idea to sleep in here. Not only could we use the fire pit to cook, but it'll keep us warm in case the temperature takes an unseasonal dive. "Go ahead and unpack. Explore as much as you like, but just make sure not to break anything." Kazuhiko might not mind having me climb all over his statue, but I'm pretty sure that he wouldn't be too impressed if we accidentally broke something in here.

"Right, then I'm just gonna leave this here." Suigetsu drops his pack and puts down the swords he's been collecting the room. "I spotted a pond out back, so I'm gonna go hydrate. That okay? Or is a dragon gonna pop out of the water and try to eat me?"

I wave at him to go ahead. "There's a well on the grounds for water, so go ahead and have a bath." We could probably all use one, to be frank. From the faint sounds of water crashing, I'd guess that like most of the small lakes in this region, it comes complete with a waterfall and draining river. Besides, who wouldn't want to have a bath on holy ground? "And unless I have a long-lost relative that I didn't know about, I don't think you'll have to worry about being surprised by any dragons."

"Alright, whatever. You want me to bring back anything?" He raises an eyebrow, watching me as I pull a pot out of thin air and fill it half full with water.

I scrutinize the pot, then nod. "There should be rabbits running around in this region, bring back three or four if you can." We could be here a few days, and the more food we haven, the better off we'll be.

"Right, sure, I'll be back in a while, then." Suigetsu ambles right back out the door and out of sight.

Turning to Jugo, I smile softly. "Think you could pick us up some firewood? I think I saw some deadfall down near the bottom of the steps."

He nods and gets to his feet, disappearing out the door behind Suigetsu. Which leaves Karin to poke her head into the room uncertainly. "Is...there anything you want me to do?" She looks restless, almost anxious.

"Well..." I can't really think of much else that needs doing right now. Unless... "Are you any good with research?"

Unexpectedly, she pushes up her glasses, a slightly arrogant glare on her face. "I was one of Orochimaru's wardens and lab technicians. Of course I'm good at research!"

"Good." I pull a scroll from my pack, setting the rest of it against my own wall. I stretch open the scroll and place my hand down on it, summoning a number of thick books from within its depths. "Because I want to track down Kazuhito, and it'll go faster if I have a second pair of eyes."

"You want to track down Kazuhiko?" She tilts her head slightly as she approaches me, taking off her cloak and setting it on there floor next to her bag. "The dragon in the front room?"

"Yeah. His name should be in the family tree somewhere, but I don't know where, or how far back to go." It's frustrating, but the family tree is just so big and so old that I can't possibly memorize every member. "I don't know how old this shrine is, or whether it was built while he was alive or after he died. So that means manually looking through the tree in order to find a dragon with that birth name and the additional name of Taiyo to Hoshi no Koe." Which might very well be easier said than done.

She looks down at the books in my hands, undaunted, and plucks one up, flipping through the first few pages and looking through the translated script. "...Alright, then it looks like we've got a lot of reading to do."

I have to admit that I wasn't too sure about her, based on Suzaku's memories, but when she's got a job to do and putting some pride into it...I have to say that I like her drive. "Yeah." I open my own book, which serves as something of a companion book to the family tree in Karin's hands. Something about the history of individual members, and details on their births, deaths, and their life stories.

Of course, this is just the first volume...there's fifty-one more.


	44. Dragons' Love

**Thanks for the ideas, Mikan, I hope that you like how I've incorporated them. I figured that this would be a good place for some fluff, even if everyone is kind of losing their minds a little. Now they can lose their minds a little less.**

 **And thank you, girani, I did work hard to make that...maybe not perfectly authentic, since I'm not Japanese, and I skipped a few steps (and holidays), but immersive, at least.**

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

It's so...eerie. It's a statue, and yet it feels almost alive, as though it could start breathing, moving, spitting fire without even a moment's notice. And its eyes...it's like it can see me standing here. Unsettling, yes, threatening, no. But definitely not normal in any way, shape, or form.

My eyes bleed red and a second vision overlaps the first, laying a sheen of white over the entire temple, growing brighter within the statue itself. I take a step back, then another, and another. Everything around me is bathed in this white energy. And now, more than ever, the dragon statue in front of me seem alive, thrumming with this energy that so resembles chakra.

But it's not. It looks like chakra, but it moves differently. It's not confined to a network, bound to a single object, or dissipating into the air. It's like a living presence hanging over the entire temple, as though another being is half sleeping, and half awake, keeping watch over this place.

Which is completely bogus. Or at least that's what I would say if I wasn't seeing it for myself. _Ciara...what ARE you?_ This place just makes no sense. Not unless Madara's story about the dragons was true. _And if that's true, then there's a lot more about this world that I didn't know._ I hate that there are so many secrets. I hate not being able to see the whole picture. I hate being deceived and misled and LIED to.

...But at least she's not lying to me. She's searching for answers too. Different answers, but answers nonetheless.

"Found it!" Karin's voice shrieks from inside the back room. She and Ciara took a break from researching to make and eat dinner, but they've been back at it for hours, going through a small mountain of books.

I step back into the room with an eyebrow raised as Karin slams the book down on the floor, pointing at a page about eighty percent of the way through. "Kazuhiko, Taiyo to Hoshi no Koe!"

"You found him?" Ciara's eyes widen as she puts down her own book and picks up the other, scrutinizing the information carefully. "...It's him, but..." She looks around, staring disbelieving lay at the walls. "If that's accurate, then this shrine is over eight hundred years old."

Suigetsu looks up from his corner, looking more than a little shocked. "There's no way this place is that old. It can't be any older than us, it's too nice!"

"I wouldn't bet on that." She summons a number of other books, flipping through a few pages, before tossing them aside one by one. "My house is over three centuries old, and even abandoned for ten years, it still looked pretty pristine when I went home." Ciara pushes a lock of hair behind her ear, frowning as she focuses on one book in particular. "I did see one ruined temple to Ayumu no Ginku, but considering who it was for, it would have had to be well over a thousand years old, maybe even twice that old."

"Ayumu no Ginku...?" Karin frowns. "I didn't see that name in the book anywhere."

"I'm not surprised. He was one of the dragons. I doubt we were keeping records nearly that far back." Something about the war she says that feels off.

So I cross the room and sit against the wall next to my chokuto. "Who was he?" the name rolls easily off her tongue, it's familiar. Which means that she must know something about him at least.

She glances up at me once, her deep emerald eyes watching me carefully, then softening as something warm flickers through them. "He was one of the four who survived. To answer your question from earlier...yes, the four who founded the clan were survivors from a great war that predates all major human conflicts. According to the old stories, it was after that war that humans finally began to thrive and build nations of their own."

"Four dragons survived the war, to my knowledge, and they found themselves a home in what is now called the Land of Fire. They lived harmoniously together for years, and after a time, took human women as their wives and gave up their immortality to grow old with these women." She glances at Suigetsu, a smirk playing about her lips. "And as some might put it, they started popping out half human and half dragon babies, lots of them."

"See! See! I told you!" Suigetsu points at me, as though expecting me to...what, get up and do something? "You two should just get a room and-"

"Suigetsu!" The last thing I need is him planting ideas.

But it looks like it's too late, because I catch a hint of pink on tanned cheeks. "Alright, I'm going out into the main hall to meditate." She piles up the books into a few stacks and gets to her feet. "Come and get me if it looks like the world is about to end. It seems to like doing that a lot." With a wave of her hand, she disappears through the door, sliding it neatly shut behind her.

I stare at the door, drawing in the silence until Suigetsu opens his mouth again. "Wow. She's definitely nothing like those other girls we see around. Chicks usually fall all over themselves trying to get into your pants, but she fled the room. Fled."

It's an exaggeration, but it still gets on my nerves. "Shut up and go to sleep." In this place, I'm guessing we'll have the luxury of getting a full night's sleep. "I'll keep an eye on things."

"Fine, fine." Suigetsu huffs and lays out his bedroll, plopping himself down on it unceremoniously. "What crawled up your ass and died?"

My glare shot at his back shuts him up in a hurry. Then I glance at Karin, then Jugo, and signal them to get some sleep as well. Best to quiet this place down for now. She'll be able to meditate, and I'll be able to do some research.

As Jugo and Karin turn in for the night, I reach for one of the books Ciara was working on earlier. From what I remember, she mentioned rituals when she was reading this one. _I wonder what sort of rituals dragons could have..._

It's old. I can tell as much the moment the book is in my hands. The paper is expensive, soft but strong, high quality writing paper. _Someone put a lot of effort into making this book..._ I flip through a few of the pages and skim through what I think is an index, then into the pages of the first few rituals. Most of them mark milestones in growth and development, accomplishments, clan-wide celebrations and the like.

I frown as I flip to page sixty-eight and a few names pop out at me. Ayumu no Ginku is there, and further down the list, I can see Taiyo to Hoshi no Koe sitting next to the name Kazuhiko. _Why do some of these names list actual names next to them?_

Reading through the exorbitantly long list of names, a pattern starts emerging. If each one of these people are dragons, and they start listing names next to these other...names? Titles? Then it means that every dragon has two names. And some of them are pretty simple, while others are incredibly elaborate. _Masahiro, Hideaki, Amaya, Makoto, Naomi, Daisuke..._ And the last name on that list looks very familiar. _Ryouta._ And that's where both columns stop and a full page and a half following it are left blank.

The following pages detail a number of steps for naming a dragon, right down to the lighting of candles and incense, ceremonial clothing, the nature of the participants... _It's like a damn instruction manual..._ I can't help but laugh at how thoroughly they seem to write down everything that pops into their heads.

As I turn another page, the door slides open again and Ciara steps back into the room as quietly as a mouse. She blinks in surprise, her eyes falling on me. "You're still awake?" Then her eyes drop to the book in my hands, her surprise growing. "...Oh."

I frown slightly, but she doesn't comment on my choice of reading material at all. _Did she expect me not to read her books?_ It can't be that she doesn't want to share the information. If that were true, she wouldn't have let Karin at her books.

She rolls out her bedroll and fluffs a pillow for it. She glances at me, acutely aware of my gaze. "Shouldn't you be sleeping? I've been out there for three hours."

I hadn't realized that I'd been reading for that long. But I'm halfway through the book, so I suppose I could simply have gotten lost in the visualization of the steps of a few of the rituals. "Hn."

She huffs and rolls her eyes as she pulls a blanket over herself. "Okay. Then I guess you can just read books all night. If you find anything interesting, let me know in the morning, alright?"

"Hn." I flip another page as she settles down, but I look back at her as she closes her eyes, watching as she slowly settles down to sleep.

As my gaze stays trained on her, she opens her eyes hallway, staring back for a moment. Then she smiles softly, her emerald eyes almost sucking me into their depths. Soft pink lips part and exhales a sigh. "Thank you, Sasuke."

Confused, my eyes narrow. But her eyes slide shut and she doesn't see the questioning look I shoot her. _...Thank you for what?_ I can't think of anything in this moment that would merit thanks.

I roll my eyes as I sort through a couple more pages. _Whatever. I'll deal with her later._ For now, there's a naming ceremony that's calling for my attention.

* * *

Naruto's P.O.V.

"Damn it!" It's been three weeks since she disappeared, and there's still no trace of her anywhere! What the fuck are we doing just sitting around!?

I would be tempted to put my fist through the wall, but this is her house, and it's old...and if I did that, she'd kill me when she gets back. She might still kill me if she finds out that I let everybody in our year set up a home base here while we look for her. Or she might forgive me. I hope it's option two.

"Hey, Naruto?" Sakura pokes her head into the training room, her voice quiet. "...Dinner's ready. Ino and Tenten are setting the table."

"Right..." I scrub my hands over my face frustratedly. We'd turned her house into a headquarters about a week ago so that we could make sure we got all the information we could. And Grandma Tsunade said that there could be people we couldn't trust listening in at her office, so this was the safest place in the village to bring information. "Yeah, let's eat." If Ciara were here, she'd say that I'll do no good to anyone if I don't keep my strength up.

When I look back at her, Sakura smiles. I've noticed that she's got a lot of different smiles. When she's excited, she smiles nice and big, it shows her teeth a bit and her cheeks get a little red and her eyes sparkle like those jade earrings I saw at a festival once.

Her determined smile has a bit of a smirk to it, and her eyes get all sharp and she sees damn near everything. When she's happy, she'll smile brightly, her eyes will light up and she'll tilt her head just a little. It's so cute. Almost as cute as that blushing smile she gets when she's embarrassed. She looks just like an apple then.

But when she's working at the hospital, that determination shines through and the corners of her mouth turn up a little as she tells them that they're gonna be just fine. Unless they're me, then I just get a scolding for doing something stupid and dangerous. That happens a lot.

And then...there's the one she's giving me right now. It's the smile she uses when she's sad, but she wants to be strong anyway. She gets like that when it's hard to smile, but she wants someone else to be happy. It helps a little...it helps take the pain away.

"Come on." She steps fully inside the room and puts her hand on my arm. "We'll find her. We just need a little more information, and then we can go out again. We're all ready to head out as soon as Lady Tsunade comes with word."

"Yeah..." It's true. All of us have our gear ready to go as soon as we get the signal. Everyone's here, even Sai and Captain Yamato. We've got Shino, Hinata, Neji, Kiba and Akamaru, Sai, and Kakashi-Sensei for tracking, Sakura and Ino are on medical duty if she needs it. Shikamaru can do his thing with Akito and Hiro and figure out where she might be and where she might go, but they've been in the library with Neji most of this time. I have no clue what they're looking for, but it had better help find Ciara, or I'm gonna tell them to shove the books up their asses and get started on real work.

Anyway, I'm ready to go whenever we find out something about where she is. Cause I hate to admit it, but Grandma Tsunade is right. Running around like a bunch of chickens isn't gonna help us find her. I just wish sh'd let me back out there to cover everywhere I can reach with my clones. That would get us something and fast.

When we get back to the living room we've been using to eat in, I plop down on one of the couches next to Lee. "So, what's for dinner?"

"I believe they have made us curry!" Lee grins widely. "Just like Grandma Sancho makes."

 _Grandma Sancho...?_ I get a sudden sinking feeling in my gut. "Oh no...not that old lady who made the curry that only Ciara can eat?"

"Yes, she makes the Curry of Life!" Lee's smile brightens, then disappears. "But Tenten has made it milder, do not worry. And I'm sure that Ciara will share a meal with us when she returns to the village."

Now that makes me smile. "Yeah, we'll have super spicy curry when she gets back, and everyone's gonna die because she's the only one who can eat that stuff with a straight face and not fall over."

"That would be because she breathes fire, Naruto." Tenten comes in carrying a big pot of curry, followed by Ino with just as much steamed rice. "How she disappeared in the first place is a bit of a mystery considering that she spits fire like those stories about dragons that Sakura keeps telling us."

"Yeah..." And she was with Utakata, so there's no way that they would have gone down easy. The whole place where they fought was wrecked, like a meteorite had hit it. I just can't believe that she's been gone for so long. "Hey Sakura, could you tell us another of the stories that you heard from Tonbei?"

"Hm...alright." She sits down next to me and picks up a plate to load it with rice and curry. "Oh. I think I know one. Tonbei said that this one was a true story, but he didn't tell me when it happened, just that it was after the village was built."

"A true story?" Shikamaru raises an eyebrow as he walks in, hands in his pockets like usual. "Is it story time again?"

"It appears so." Neji walks in behind him,, followed by Hiro, and Akito who still has his nose in a book. "Mind if we join you?"

"Go ahead, the food is on. And Sakura was just about to give us our in-dinner entertainment." Tenten sits on another couch with a plate of curry, and it looks pretty good. Smells better, though.

"Yeah, now let's see..." Sakura takes a bite of her food, letting her fork draw circles in the air. "Way back before any of us were born, there were three Great Ninja Wars. I'm not sure which this story takes place in, but it was probably the first or second. Anyway...it's said that as the hidden villages descended into conflict, the elders of the village and the clan heads of the time went to a holy mountain to petition the dragons for their help in battle. Know as fierce warriors and guardians of their people, they agreed after days of negotiation and persuasion and gathered their followers together for the ensuing battles."

"They had to negotiate?" Chouji frowns through his face full of food. "Why?"

"Because the Shiryugu Clan won't go to war without a cause." Instead of letting Sakura answer the question, Neji goes ahead. "It's written in their codes to never fight meaningless battles. I assume that it is because they numbered only four after a war nearly destroyed them all, and because they have no wish to lose any of their family to violence and bloodshed."

"How do you know that?" I mean, it sounds like something Ciara would say, but how can he be sure that's how they all thought?

Neji smiles softly. "Because it's written in some of the books, and in the hall with the large statues in it. 'War is the measure of the weak. Protection is the duty of the strong.'"

"That's a good saying." Kiba's fangs show when he smiles, and Akamaru yips loudly at Neji. "Akamaru thinks so too."

"Yes, it is a good saying." Sakura laughs and puts her plate down on her lap. "So, when the dragons and their clan moved to join the war, they would split up to different fronts, different fields. It's said that the dragon's never fought together, but instead, they fought with a hand-picked group of guardians who had trained together and with them since birth. A dragon's guardians are picked from their closest family, but they acted like a team or a ninja squad. In that war, there were...seven dragons fighting, and every one of them was accompanied by cousins or siblings or some other family members who would protect them while they fought."

Fighting with your family protecting you sounds nice. Sometimes I wish I knew who my mom and dad were and how they fought, but... I guess that Ciara is close enough to family now, and I know what it's like to fight with her at my side. "That's nice."

Sakura laughs and nods. "Yeah, it is. But during one of the battles, one of the dragons was fighting against forces from the Hidden Stone, and they'd trapped about three dozen of our ninja, including a few members from the Katsuragi Clan, which is how Tonbei knows the story. It looked like the battle was lost until he dropped right into the middle of the battle and roared so loudly that the earth itself shook, and it could be felt in the Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, and all the way to the Land of Rice Patties. A Dragon of the Earth, they called him, and his name meant Flames of the Scorched Earth.

"But he wasn't alone. One of the kunoichi who was fighting in that battle had no fear of his power, unlike her comrades. She broke through his line of guardians fearlessly and charged the enemy that had surrounded them. The ninjas that day would tell stories of earthquakes and fire that truly did scorch the earth. Her breath raged scarlet and gold, and his was a torrent of pure, shining white flame. For when the two of them blew plumes of fire, the light from them could be seen for miles, and all of the forest around them was reduced to ash and cinders. The enemy ninja who survived the display surrendered."

Ino's eyes widen and she totally forgets her own food. "What happened then?"

"Well...the woman who blew the fire stood before the dragon and said 'That was beautiful fire. Would you teach it to me?' And he said 'It is a gift from my ancestors, and not one that can be taught. But I would not teach it to you.' She was getting angry because she felt like he'd insulted her, but instead, he picked up her hand and kissed it, and said 'For you already breathe fire as beautifully as a dragon, and there is nothing that I could do to add to your skill. Or your beauty.'" Sakura giggles at her own story.

Then, she takes a breath and leans back against the couch, her eyes twinkling with happiness. "They say that her cheeks turned as red as her fire, and that from that day on, she would always be at his side when he went into battle, their trust in each other as important as their strength and support for one another. And years later, after the war was done and they both emerged alive and bonded through the fires of war, they put down their weapons and swore their love to one another in this new time of peace. The feasts that followed were glorious and triumphant, for a dragon had fallen in love and brought the one who held his heart in her hands into his family, and with her, created a new family all their own."

There's a moment of silence, then Hinata pipes up from between Akamaru and Shino. "That was a beautiful story, Sakura. D-do you know what the dragon's name was?"

Sakura shakes her head and sighs. "No. And I think...only one person does."

Silecnes falls again, but this time, I know we're all thinking the same thing. "We're going to get her back." I don't want to keep feeling like there's a huge piece missing from this place. It just feels so quiet without her here. "No matter what it takes, we're going to get her back."

"You are right, Naruto. We will do our very best and Ciara will be returned to us safely." Lee grins at me, sticking his thumb confidently in the air.

"Naruto!" A giant thump and familiar voice interrupts dinner, and a big flash of orange lands right next to the table with the curry pot.

"Gamakichi?" What the hell is he doing here? "Why are you here? Is Pervy Sage back?"

"No, it's Ciara!" And that gets everyone's attention on my toad real fast. "I was following her for a few days after she got out of the Hidden Rain, right into the Land of Rivers. She's there now with four others." Gamakichi holds up his...hand? Paw? Flipper? Ah, whatever, he holds up his fingers, showing the number four. "Last I saw her, she was heading for an old shrine near the border with the Land of Wind. She got attacked by an Akatsuki, but she drove him off and ran in the opposite direction, smart kid."

"Okay, but who's she with?" Sakura's eyebrows scrunch up. She does that when she's worried. "And where's she been all this time?"

Gamakichi grows quiet, then turns his groggy eyes on her. "She was captured and held prisoner by the Akatsuki. She was in rough shape, but she's in recovery now. And she was rescued by..." His eyes flick to me, like my head's a huge fly. "Sasuke Uchiha."

That...was about the last name I was expecting to hear.

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

I put down the finished book on ritual and ceremony, my mind whirling with all of the information and possibilities. And here I thought that my clan was secretive. they hid a coup from almost the entire village, but...they've got nothing on these dragons if all of this was just from one little book.

Sighing, I look around at my sleeping team, and at the girl across the fire from me. _Just what are you...?_ I thought that I'd figured her out, but now I've just got more questions, and I don't even know if she has the answers.

I get to my feet and walk silently across the room. She's got more books, so there's no point in just sitting around and wondering. I reach for a book on top of the pile, hesitating when I notice her medical pack slightly open, and another book inside of it. _What's that...?_

Reaching for it, I pull it out of the bag and sit down with my back to the fire. I flip it open, only to find a picture instead of words. Beautifully painted and completely life-like, the man and woman in the picture are so...familiar somehow, though I certainly don't recognize the baby. _Who are they...?_

At the bottom of the page, there's an inscription. _Lord Daisuke Shiryugu, Lady Akane Shiryugu, and their firstborn son, Eiji Shiryugu. Akane...as in Uchiha?_ That...would explain her dark hair and dark eyes. She looks a bit like mother, but...there's a soft curl to her hair that Mother never had.

I flip to the next page and see them again, Daisuke and Akane. But this time, Daisuke holds a young boy in his arms, and Akane holds another baby. _Daisuke... Akane... Eiji... and Miko, firstborn daughter._ The next page is similar, a portrait of Daisuke and Akane with Eiji and Miko, both of them resembling Akane more than Daisuke. This time, the baby in her arms is labeled as Yukio, their second son.

It's the fifth picture that draws all of my attention. With an almost teenaged Eiji, and preteen Miko and Yukio. The baby this time is. Miyako, their youngest daughter. But the third son is the one who I swear I've seen before. And I know just where I've seen the image of this five-year-old before. _That's...Ciara's face._ He looks so much like the little girl who was dropped into our academy class ten years ago. He's got her eyes, clearly, the dark forest green that would become the emerald eyes that have been staring at me a lot over the last few days.

I glance at her, understanding dawning on me. _This is a family photo album..._ She must keep it with her so that she has images of her family close by if she wants to see them. I...have nothing like that, because most of the pictures of my family included Itachi. And until recently...

It's not something I want to think about, so I turn my eyes back on the book, flipping through images of their childhoods. There's a lot of care that went into these pictures, even as they start to shift from life-like paintings to actual photographs.

The pictures of a young Ryouta are...they make it easy to see where she gets her looks from. If she suddenly transformed into a boy, this is what she would look like, I know it.

A picture of her as a baby catches my attention, and the expressions on her parents' faces... I glance at her again. _They obviously loved you and gave you all the attention in the world_. I'm not sure if I should envy her for the bond she had with them, or be grateful that my own father was so distant from me that his loss didn't hurt quite so badly. Mother's did. And Itachi...

Her necklace catches my attention next, slipping out of her shirt and into view. It's Itachi's. _...She must have taken it when he died._ I know that I should probably be angry that she took something of his without permission but...somehow I just can't bring myself to hate her for it. It just feels...right for it to be there, like there's still a little piece of him alive inside of her.

My heart nearly stops when I look back at the photo album and turn the page. there, staring at me from the pages of this little book is a three-year-old Ciara, riding happily on Itachi's back. I remember my brother growing cold and distant over time, and the last time I saw him alive, it was like all of the life was bleeding out of him. But here, in this photo, holding Ciara and laughing next to Shisui...I know that my memories of him are riddled with resentment, since he stopped paying much attention to me, and then left me alone. But here, in this picture...I see the brother that I remember best, the one who lived and laughed and loved me. And...clearly loved her as well.

A staggered breath next to me breaks the quiet of the night, barely audible over the crackling of the flames. But as I look down at Ciara one more time, I notice the tears trickling down her face, glimmering in the light of the fire. "Ch-Chi-Chi. Don't-" She gasps again, a soft, heartbroken sound as her hand reaches out and tries to grab nothing but air. "Don't go..."

 _She's having a nightmare._ I wonder just how many nightmares she's had since her family died. More than she can count, I'd bet. I would know...I've had them too. They don't come as often now, but with Itachi's death so fresh...

Before I even know what I'm doing, I place a hand on her head and run my fingers through her hair, brushing it away as it falls into her face. _Looks like she still loves you, Aniki..._

"Chi-Chi..." She twitches under my fingers, slowly relaxing under the touch and pressing into it. "...Back..." _She must be dreaming of Itachi now..._ A dream is definitely better than a nightmare, it hurts less when you wake up. But I wish she wouldn't confuse me with Itachi. I was compared to him enough when I was a kid.

But when she shifts again and presses the top of her head against my thigh, she smiles faintly, the tears drying slowly across the bridge of her nose. "Sasuke...missed you..."

I freeze, wondering for a moment if she's gone and woken up, but she doesn't say anything more, and her breathing only slows down again, calming and stabilizing. I sigh and watch her as she drifts back into a deep sleep, my fingers working through her soft hair. _So...even in her sleep, she knows the difference between us._ And for just a short while, I can't help but smile. And I turn my eyes to the photo album, flipping through a few more pages filled with her and Itachi and Shisui, her cousins, her aunts and uncles. Photo after photo of her being played with, hugged, cuddled, snuggled, carried, and pampered. She looks so happy, so ready to smile.

I wonder if she'll ever smile like that again...


	45. Winds of the Morning Star

**This chapter took a lot longer than I expected. Things have been chaotic around here, but the chaos is dying down again now. To make up for this, the chapter is big and important, and now you all finally get a big reveal.**

 **Maybe, mikan, maybe... ;)**

 **Hi girani, have I ever told you how much I love it when you guys come up with theories? Seriously, it's like…whenever one of you comes up with a theory, even if it's wrong, it makes me feel all tingly inside because it's like…wow ok, people are really engaging with what I'm writing and their imaginations are leading them all over the place. So for everybody else, I encourage theories. Bring me your theories.**

 **On the matter of your theory about the white energy being nature energy…yes. Well, and no. But you're definitely on the right track. I can see where you're going with the idea that the white is nature energy, and…sort of. It's her chakra, but it's also not her chakra. It's…kind of like a symbiotic relationship between her and the energy in the world around her.**

 **In the Shinto stories, regional gods were thought to take power from the world around them, and as long as their power was there, the land was safe and fertile, conversely, if the land was destroyed, their power would fade or they would leave the region if their shrine was destroyed. So no, it's not like Sage Mode, if that's where your mind was going with this. The meditation, however, serves a different purpose, one that you will be seeing in this chapter.**

 **As for Sasuke involving her more in his life… :)**

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

"Mm…" I blink my eyes open slowly, momentarily annoyed by the way my eyelashes stick together. I must have cried again last night… I sigh and make to sit up, only for a warm weight on my head to keep me in place. What?

I frown slightly as I slowly sit up, the sound of a person breathing quietly ringing loud in my ears. My gaze travels up as I raise my head and push myself up to lean on my left hip and it lands on Sasuke's face right above me, relaxed in sleep. He looks almost…angelic like this.

But for a few seconds, I'm not entirely sure what's going on, since the last I remember, he was set up on the other side of the fire pit. The weight on my head slides down, and I note his arm falling out of the corner of my eye as his hands slides down from my hair, over my shoulders, and down my spine to rest in the small of my back.

His arm drifts to curl around my waist and I look down to see my hand on his thigh from pushing myself up. It's almost surreal. The Sasuke I remember hated it with a passion when people invaded his personal space. So…how could I have gotten into his without him noticing? And without trying?

His face scrunches up slightly, his breath hitching as he groans softly. Dark eyes squeeze tightly closed and the bridge of his nose wrinkles a little as he stirs awake. And ever so slowly, onyx eyes flutter open, blinking slowly, before his head turns towards me, his eyes widening a fraction as he comes almost nose to nose with me. "What…?"

I swallow nervously. "I…don't know, I just…woke up and sat up and we were…" My cheeks heat and I quickly remove my hand from his thigh but freeze as I remember his hand. "…" I glance back over my shoulder, then at him. If I move first, this could get awkward and fast.

He blinks once, then carefully slides his hand away from me, not deigning to make a comment at all. "Hn." Well, at least that doesn't count as a comment in my books.

There's absolute silence between us, not particularly uncomfortable, just…like there's something in the way. I feel like I've been left out of the loop about something. "…So you decided that you prefer this side of the room?"

Sasuke looks me up and down once, his gaze lingering on my cheeks, then my eyes. "Hn."

Okay, clearly he's not very articulate in the morning. Then again I never really remember him being particularly prone to conversation first thing in the morning. "…I'm going to go and try meditating again." I lean back, away from him and roll out of bed and onto my feet. "I cut my practice short last night." Our of frustration and little else. I can feel my body and spirit fighting each other, and I can't figure out why. I've studied this technique for days, and there still feels. Like there's something missing whenever I sit down and try to activate it.

He watches me, offering no response. So I sigh and turn my back, looking back over my shoulder once at him as I approach the door and slide it open. "…Thank you for last night." I'm not entirely sure what he did, but…I remember having another nightmare about Itachi. I remember watching him turn his back and then disappearing into smoke, leaving me alone in the darkness. But then…I remember Sasuke too, and he made everything feel warm, safe. He made me happy.

I step out and slide the door shut behind me, letting out a long, quiet sigh. My heart clenches tight and goosebumps erupt across my skin. For such a warm shrine, I feel very cold.

Walking forward to stand before the statue, I look up into his eyes, a wave of sadness and painful nostalgia washing through me. I know that I never met him, but I feel like I know him. Or maybe that he knows me. But I can't speak to him, and if he can speak, he hasn't spoken to me either.

Lowering my head, I turn and sit down, leaning back against the base of the statue as I prepare to meditate again. One of the key parts to this is to let your energy sink into the ground and connect with nature. And today, as I close my eyes, I have no trouble with the sinking part.

I want to make them proud of me, but I just keep failing.

 _I want to go home…_

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

She blushed.

I stare at my hand, the one that very nearly drifted to places it shouldn't have. I must have fallen asleep and not realized it. The last I remember, I was stroking her hair to help stop her nightmare.

My gaze drifts to the closed door, where she disappeared again. I'm not entirely sure what all of this meditation is supposed to accomplish, but at the very least she's taking it seriously.

Glancing back at the ritual book, I recall the naming ceremony. Maybe it's not something she talks about in front of me, but I've never heard her mention whether or not she has a name like that. Considering that all of her family is dead…I doubt it. A close relative is, maybe not strictly a requirement, but the book certainly only mentions the ceremony being performed by a clan elder or the clan head, a parent, or another clan member of their choosing. But she has no one like that. _If Itachi were here…_

I pick up the book again and rifle through it, looking for that section again. I memorized it before, but sometimes, staring at pages I've already memorized helps me think.

If Itachi were here, he would know what to do. My gaze flicks over the ritual passages again and it seems…not simple, exactly, but straightforward. It requires holy ground. We have that. It requires pure water, fire, air, and what I think is a lightning strike. That seems easy enough. There's air everywhere in the shrine, and we're already on holy ground, which leaves three elements. Fire, water, and lightning.

Then there's also the problem of a name. I've seen the script in which these 'names' of theirs are written. Some of the names have archaic characters, but the translations are easy enough to understand. And they all follow fairly easy themes. There's a natural element, and an ethereal element to their names. They speak of power, of something primal and ancient, but also something personal.

If I had to guess, some of these names, like the one associated with Daisuke Shiryugu, denotes something about his abilities. _Flames of the Scorched Earth. Taken literally, it might refer to his primary chakra natures, which is…I think what's going on here._ Most of the names have elemental components that seems almost like chakra natures. Kazuhiko, the patron of this shrine, his is Voice of the Sun and Stars, associated with fire. And the further back they go, the more they seem like actual descriptions of these dragons' powers.

So… I sigh and put the book down in my lap. _What sort of name suits her? According to this book, she needs one. But there's no one to give her one…_

 _Wind. The nature she uses the most is wind. And after that, fire. She is graceful and light on her feet, kind, caring, a protector and healer in battle. Her primary partner in battle is… Naruto… The two of them are practically inseparable._

But lately, that's not true. _For now, she hasn't even tried to go back to the village. She's stayed with us, given us a safe place to lay low. She and Naruto might fight together, but she's chosen to be with us for now. With me._

I scroll through the names again, frowning. The things I seek…lay only in the darkness. And the things he seeks lay in the light, in having everyone's acknowledgement. But she…she's different. She supports Naruto in his goals, pushing him to brighten that light. But at the same time, she's willing to help me reach my goals in the darkness. I glance at the closed door, my eyes trailing to where her chakra shines through the wall, but only to my eyes. She walks the line between light and darkness, pushing Naruto away from the darkness, and trying to pull me from it. She knows the darkness, but she looks towards the light. She's caught in the middle.

Just like Itachi.

The sound of a door sliding open catches my attention, then comes the sound of it sliding shut, and her chakra moves away, outside of the shrine. For a moment, I consider getting up to see what she's doing, but then she circles around the shrine and heads behind it, towards where the pond is. A bath?

I continue to watch her chakra move back to the pond and waterfall behind the shrine. She stops, her chakra moving in place and her body contorting a little. As it becomes obvious that she's taking her clothes off, I look away. If she's just taking a bath, that's fine, but I'd rather not have her just wander off where I can't see her.

But now that she's out of the main hall, I have a chance to go and examine it for myself. I've refrained, since she's been using it for meditation, but I've been curious about how it's all set up.

I slide the door open and step through, closing it behind me. The others can keep sleeping a bit longer, we've been pushing so hard the last week, months, really, that they should probably catch up on as much sleep as they can while we're in a place where no one can get to us.

The main shrine hall is quiet, still, but the door left open a crack lets light inside. To illuminate the hug dragon statue curling around the room. I place my hand on the statue, running my fingers along it until I come to a dip in the metal filled with liquid. I frown and rub it between my fingers. _Oil?_ I bring my fingers to my nose and inhale slightly. _Definitely oil._ Which means that the statue can be lit on fire. I look down to the ground and note the thin grooves carved into the floor.

Following one of the grooves with my eyes, I notice a tiny, concealed trap door in one corner of the room. Not big enough to fit anyone through, but big enough for… _Water? If the grooves were filled with water, then the trap door mechanism could be for letting it drain out._

Holy ground, purified shrine air, oil in the statue for lighting fires, and grooves in the floor for holding water... _They performed ceremonies here._ It's what first comes to mind, and it makes the most sense.

Then, something else occurs to me, and I step into the middle of the room to stare the dragon in the eyes. _…If all of the old stories are true, or at least the ones she's told us, then her family…is right here. Or at least one of them is._

Everything we need is here. I look around the room again, taking a mental inventory of all of the elements of this place. _Earth, wind, fire, water, an ancestor. All we need now is lightning and..._ "A name." All she needs now is a name.

I clench the book in my hand and stare down at it, letting the characters from the pages fill my mind.

I'll think about it while I explore this shrine a little more.

* * *

Naruto's P.O.V.

A messenger hawk got sent out as soon as I woke Grandma Tsunade up last night. And boy was she pissed about losing out on her beauty sleep. She shut up pretty fast when I told her what Gamakichi told me. So Gaara should get the news sometime today and send out some teams to search the area near the border. But if this doesn't blow up in our faces, we'll find her before his teams even get there.

Which is exactly why I'm up front, using the pace of the two full squads we're running through the woods in search of her. Since Kurenai-Sensei is sick, we've got Ino along just in case we need an extra medic.

 _…Who am I kidding. She refused to let us go without her._

"Naruto." Lee catches up with me quick and keeps pace with me like it's nothing. "What shall we do when we find Ciara and Sasuke?"

And then there's that. "We'll bring them both back to the village with us!" There's no way that I'm just letting either of them slip away again. I know that Ciara didn't mean to, so it'll be easy to get her to come back. Gamakichi said she was heading towards the Sand, which means that she's probably heading for Gaara. "Hey Kakashi-Sensei, why do you think they're heading for the Sand, anyway?" It'd be faster just to bring her home.

"Well…" _Oh no, here we go again._ "I imagine that if Sasuke is determined to stay away from the Leaf, dropping her off in the territory of an allied nation would be the second best thing to escorting her directly home. And if she's been held captive by the Akatsuki, then they would need to rest periodically so that she can heal."

I really don't want to think about what the Akatsuki might have done to her while she was trapped. And I definitely don't want to think about what might have happened to her if she'd been left there.

I ball up my fists, looking on ahead as I pick up the pace a bit more. "Then we've gotta hurry. If they're chasing her again, then she and Sasuke aren't gonna stand a chance if they get caught." _I know she's strong, and I know that Sasuke's gotta be strong too, but if the Akatsuki caught her once, then she could get caught again._

 _And I'm NOT gonna let that happen!_

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

Everything feels…cold, empty, wrong…

My fingers drag through the cool water as I stand beneath the waterfall, letting the torrents pour on my head and stream down my face, washing away the silent salty tears. The water is so clear, so pristine…it's like the lake behind the house at home, where I used to play in the water. But that was back when Itachi and Shisui were still alive. Back when they were still with me.

It's hard, especially when it feels like everything around me is going dark, but I know that neither of them would want me to obsess over this. No matter how much it hurts, they wouldn't want me to beat myself up over any of it.

I know that, but…it's just so hard…

I slip from the ledge under the waterfall into the pool beneath, the water swirling around my upper arms as I step through the water. Running my fingers through my soaking wet hair, I gaze down into my reflection. I wonder what people see when they look at me...? Would they see a beautiful young kunoichi? A healer? A fighter? A jinchuuriki? A monster…?

I guess, in the end, they see it all. Humans are like that, after all. They see what they want to see, what they expect to see, whether that is the truth or a blatant deception. But then…who is doing the deceiving? Is it me? Are they deceiving themselves? Or are they just looking without really seeing?

What…is truth? What is reality?

What hurts the most is that I don't know. And now…I no longer have anyone who can tell me. They're gone. Every last one of them is gone. Everyone who loved me, cherished me…I failed all of them. There was nothing that I could do to stop their deaths. _And now I am condemned to walk this world alone… Without them…what am I? I can feel it stirring inside me…but it's trapped…I'm trapped…and I've failed again…_

"Ciara?" That's…Sasuke's voice. "Are you done out here?"

I slowly lift my eyes from the water and open my mouth to speak, but not a sound comes out. It's as if my voice has gone and vanished. I want to answer him, but there's simply no sound except for his voice.

The grass rustles softly under his feet, and ruby eyes find mine as Sasuke emerges from between the trees. The blinks once, his eyes widening slightly, then he smoothly turns around, looking anywhere but at me. "…You're not dressed."

It takes a few moments for his words to sink in, then I look down at myself and flush slightly. I move my hair about, letting it float around in the water and swirl about, concealing most of my form from view. "…I'm bathing." So of course I have no clothes on.

"Then get out, you've been in there for three hours." _Has it really been that long?_ "You're going to freeze if you stay in there."

I do feel cold, but I felt cold since before stepping into the water. "I'm fine. There's no need to worry about me." I close my eyes and sink a little deeper into the water, trying to disappear into it.

"Hn." I can hear his footsteps striding away from the trees, growing fainter and fainter with every step. But just as I relax, a tiny splash disturbs the water behind me. "You've bathed long enough."

Before I have time to formulate, let alone mount a protest, a strong, pale arm lifts me from the water and I'm surrounded in a billow of white softness. I shiver as the breeze fills the flowing material, only to stop when it tightens around me, one side pulled over the other and cinched at the waist by a cloth obi.

As his arms slide under my knees and around my back, I stare bemusedly at Sasuke. I've never pegged him as one for enjoying touching others, but this seems not just impatient but also…almost intimate? "Ah…Sasuke?" The cold starts to fade away, replaced by the heat pouring off his body. "Y-you could have just sent Karin…" I doubt that this was comfortable for him to see, let alone deal with.

But when he looks down at me with a fierce fire lighting his eyes, my protesting suggestion stops dead in its tracks. I know that look, I've seen it before. But never so fiercely, and never directed at me.

Behind the irritation and disapproval there is a possessive flame burning. _He…didn't want to send Karin for me. He wouldn't have sent someone else to come for me._ It's almost like he doesn't trust anyone with me.

I have to admit, that's more than Sasuke's mysterious dark eyes have revealed to me in a long time.

He steps away from the water with me, carrying me to the shore where a pile of clothes waits for me. They're not my usual style though. They look old. Extremely old. They remind me of the clothes some of my ancestors wore in the paintings and sketches I found in the clan library.

Sasuke sets me down on my feet in the grass and leans down to pick up the layers of clothing, draping them over my shoulders one after another. "I found them in the shrine." _Oh, well that certainly explains a lot._

He lifts my arms and fits them through the long, fluttering sleeves of the loose silk under-dress, then through the shoulder openings of the sleeveless red silk over-dress. He clasps it shut on the left side at my hip and shoulder, then ties a golden sash around my waist.

When he's finished dressing me, which is very strange in and of itself, he picks me up once more and strides back through the trees with me, away from the waterfall. I haven't really been given a choice but to let him do as he pleases. Though I'm still trying to figure out why. "…Sasuke, what are you doing?"

He casts a sideways glance at me, but says nothing. All that I could interpret in his eyes is that I'm to stay put and not resist. It's cryptic, but also…almost sweet. I'm not sure if he's being kind or impatient, but I suspect it's something in between and leaning towards the latter. Determination. I could see that much in his eyes with utmost clarity.

When we arrive back in the shrine grounds, I'm nearly entirely dry, the new clothes included, thanks to the heat of Sasuke's body. The wonderful, comforting heat.

He takes off his shoes as he steps into the shrine with me, proceeding inside as there's nothing to remove from my feet. But something's off. I don't remember the inside of the shrine looking quite like…this. "What did you do…?"

He doesn't even bat an eye at my question. "I got it ready for you. I came for you as soon as I had the last piece."

"The last piece of what?" He isn't making any sense. "What do I need it prepared like this for?"

Instead of answering me, he steps forward to place me in the middle of a whirl of swirling designs in the floor, the little grooves carved into it filled with water all around me. Then he steps back and places his hand to the back of the dragon, curling all around the room. Under his touch, fire lights up along the spine, casting the room in a beautiful glow. It's gorgeous, but it must have taken so much effort to prepare.

"Why?" The question tumbles from my lips before I can stop it. But I can't take it back. I won't. "Why did you do this, Sasuke?"

He steps back towards the center of the room, standing opposite me as the firelight flickers off the water in the floor. "You haven't been able to do it, have you? No matter how much you meditate and focus."

Shame floods through me and I drop my gaze to the floor. "…No, I haven't."

And despite what I expect, there's no indication that he's judging me, not a sound, not a look, not even a disapproving twitch. "This will change that. Now focus."

I blink bemusedly, returning my gaze up to him. "What?"

"Focus." Sasuke narrows his eyes slightly, watching me expectantly. "Do whatever it is that you need to do to activate this power of yours."

 _Wait…that's what he's getting on about?_ I know that I've talked about it vaguely, but I didn't think that he would actively get involved in my training. "…Alright." Sasuke got me out for a reason, he's spirited me far away from the people who tried to murder me. He'd done nothing since rescuing me to cause me any undue alarm. And…this is Sasuke. Despite the things he's done, I know that I can trust him with this.

With a sigh, I spread out the dress around me, kneeling underneath it as I close me eyes. I take a deep breath in, and another one out, focusing and letting go, just as I've tried to do during each and every meditation session thus far. Slowly, I cast out small pieces of my chakra, letting them burrow into the earth and latch onto the flows of natural energy there. Push and pull, give and take, a balance forms when one communes and finds peace within themselves and within the world around them.

I sink…bit by bit…deeper and deeper into the energetic flow of the earth. Its energies push and pull at my spirit, just as they have done so many times since first arriving here. But even more so now, when surrounded by the natural power set out around me. I feel so very…alive.

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

It's like nothing I've ever seen before, watching her chakra swirls and change, flowing in and out and merging together with everything around her. The flow of water in the grooves of the floor pulls the energy from her, shifting it around into the flames that suck it up, and into the air and earth that become suffused with it. In all of my time with Orochimaru, all of my time studying, traveling…I've only ever once heard of something like this.

In that ancient ritual book of hers.

I take a step towards her, silent as the grave. I have Karin and Jugo standing by in case something goes wrong, but somehow…everything simply feels right. The elements are gathering their power. And that leaves only one remaining.

 _If you are listening…watch and listen and wait…and make sure that I don't end up killing her instead._ Because this is only a theory, and as there's no one alive that I can run it past to see if it will work, I'll be relying on her resilience and my own deductions.

When the chakra begins the final rise towards its climax, I raise my hand into the air, letting my Chidori crackle with an intense white light. And I hope to all the gods that this won't accidentally kill her.

I remember the words from the book clearly.

 _Living in a fragile shell, you are called to this world to restore balance, to act as passage and gatekeeper. Your spirit is called forth from this human body into the mortal world._

Even merely thinking the words causes my Chidori to lash out across the room, bolts of lightning arcing through the air and slamming against the walls and statue, but not leaving a dent or even a scorch mark anywhere. But the biggest bolt of lightning goes completely haywire and slams straight into the middle of Ciara's forehead.

My eyes widen and I do my best to cut off the chakra at the source, but instead of the connection breaking, her eyes flash open, her emerald eyes almost electrified. The bolts travel down her head from the roots to the tips of her hair, sparking in the strands but not setting a single one alight. The lightning engulfs her slowly, growing stronger as it snaps, crackles, and wavers in the growing gusts of wind swirling about the sealed shrine.

Her eyes stay locked with mine, freezing me in place. But there's something wrong. She's not looking at me. It's like…someone else is looking at me through her eyes.

"Sasuke!" Karin charges into the room, followed closely by Suigetsu and Jugo. "What are you doing in here, the chakra buildup is MASS-" One of the gusts of wind sends her skidding across the floor and presses her up against the nearest wall.

Suigetsu takes a step back and holds up his arm to protect against the wind. "Sasuke, what the fuck is going ON!?"

"Sasuke!" Jugo tries to fight through the storm as the lightning flashes brighter, the flames grow higher, and the air itself whips the water into a misty frenzy. "You need to get out of there!"

I grit my teeth and try once more to pull away, but I can't move…not until this is done. And not once have her eyes left me. Not once has she looked away. Then, her lips move, and I can just make out the words on her lips.

Sasuke…it's a thunderstorm.

The words click into place, all of it making sense now. With a twitch of my fingers, I increase the voltage, driving the power in here higher and higher, making it too bright to see any longer.

An earth-shattering blast rocks the shrine and knocks me off my feet. It's a wave of power and chakra like nothing I've ever felt before. Powerful, yes, but so utterly…foreign. It's as though it's not even chakra anymore. It's something else. Something even more…alive.

Only when the wave of light and pressure recedes, do I try to push myself up from the floor and onto my feet. The ritual book said nothing about this, but I suppose that might be because I threw it all together with only half an idea of what I was trying to accomplish.

As I rise to my feet, I look around the room at my team. "Jugo, Karin, Suigetsu…are all of you alright?"

"Like hell, what the fuck was that supposed to accomplish?" Suigetsu staggers to his feet, his hands reaching for his swords.

Karin groans and rolls over onto her stomach. "I feel like I was hit by a train. What were you thinking, Sasuke?"

"Hn." My eyes fall to where Jugo, who seems to have weathered the blast better than the rest of us, is kneeling over Ciara's collapsed form on the floor. "…How is she?"

He frowns, but touches her gently and presses his ear to her chest. "She's alive. But other than that, I don't know."

"How…" Karin stares at her, not believing whatever she's seeing. "Her chakra…it's…gone. But I can still feel it everywhere around us."

"What?" I clench my fists and turn my Sharingan on her, letting my gaze wash over her. I can see her chakra everywhere, a cloud of white energy filling up the shrine. But it seems that only a small part of it is still tethered to her body. Only enough to keep her alive.

I grit my teeth and stand up, trying to figure out what went wrong. _She said thunderstorm…was she telling me to increase or decrease the amount of power?_ Honestly, I couldn't have decreased it even if I wanted to, and it seemed like it was trying to build to a critical mass.

But as I stand here, trying to figure out what to do, the bells outside of the shrine begin to chime, ringing gently in the gusts of wind escaping this place. A shiver shoots through me with every ring of the bells, raising the fine hairs on the back of my neck. I would almost say there's danger coming, but I sense nothing dangerous.

 _What's going on here, Ciara…? What have we done?_

My vision fills suddenly with a blinding flash of light that slowly dims to a soft, focused glow in the middle of the shrine. It's warm, not threatening at all, but it feels powerful.

"What is that?" Suigetsu draws Zabuza's old blade warily, pointing it at the ball of light hanging in the middle of the room. "Sasuke, what's going on here?"

It's white and pure and…familiar. So I motion to Karin to check it out. She frowns, focusing hard on it, and shakes her head slightly in disbelief. "It's…her? But how? She's…" Karin looks down to the floor where Jugo is carefully cradling Ciara's body.

I swallow down a touch of worry, focusing solely on the bright ball of light. "Ciara?"

The light pulses, glowing brightly, then dimly, brightly again, and then dimming once more, pulsing like the beat of a heart. Then it grows blindingly bright once more for only a second, before dimming and growing, almost solidifying before us.

And from the light emerges a familiar face, a form dressed very neatly in the same clothes I brought out for her, only now decorated in gold and jewels. Pins hold up half of her hair, some of it braided and other parts left loose. Bracelets and ankles jingle on her limbs, and an elaborate necklace with a dozen green gems is clasped around the high collar of her dress.

She takes a step towards me, then a second, standing before me with the regal appearance of something ancient and powerful. She tilts her head, and small horns protrude from her hair and around her face like a fan, the almost metallic points glimmering in the light of the flames. Familiar, and yet not, she's like nothing I've ever seen before.

Silence hangs between us, and she continues watching me, not speaking, but not ignoring me either. A question glimmers in her eyes, and for a moment, I wonder if she is capable of speaking right now. For some reason…I don't think that she can.

I take a deep breath and it occurs to me that this must be the next step. Ciara is standing here in front of me, I think. Her spirit is outside of her body, which means…all she needs now is a name. I've done my part, and I even picked out a name after two hours of looking through that old book, picking out the characters I needed to make the only name that seemed to fit her at all.

As if reading my thoughts, she finally opens her mouth to speak. "What is my name?" Her voice wafts over me like a melodic tune, so much like Ciara's normal voice but…deeper somehow, not in tone but in…something else that can't be put into human words. Like reaching back into time and finding a piece of something older, something purer, something that reverberates across ages.

Her name. The one that took me hours of consideration and research to decide on. "The Winds of the Morning Star. Myojo no Kaze."

With each word, her gaze seems to clear, and she smiles softly, nodding appreciatively. "I am Myojo no Kaze, the Winds of the Morning Star. I am a dragon of the wind. The last dragon. And the Lady of Tenryuusai, the Mountain of the Holy Dragon."

Power. Everything about her screams regal, ancient power. And it's all contained within a human body. But she still feels…distant. Not cold, but unfamiliar. So I search her eyes, looking for the one I know within them. "Ciara?"

Something within her shifts. Her eyes widen and her form flickers. Her gaze grows warmer, though surprised, and slowly, her elaborate dress disappears piece by piece. The chakra around her strips it away, leaving her in simple blue pants, tall boots, a black sleeveless shirt with its open back, and a long, simple braid draping over her shoulder. The air of mystery is gone, but the air of power remains. Her eyes glow with a familiar light, and before me now stands the girl I know, the girl I rescued from that dungeon.

For a second, a small war seems to take place in her eyes. But after that second is done, the warring sides seem to merge together and her gaze changes, becoming sharp and aware, but soft and welcoming. "Sasuke…you…gave me my name."

I did. "You're back." Or at least, so I think.

She smiles softly and laughs. "I never left. I guess…you just woke up a part of me that I forgot existed. And it was that part of me that you met just now." An ecstatic light explodes in her eyes. "You were…the last piece I needed. I couldn't figure out why I could never expel my spirit before. I've been practicing and meditating, but I could never seem to push my power out like this. And now…" She twirls around, her braid flying through the air as if it still has mass. "Now I've done it, and it's thanks to you!"

"Hn." I glance at her body, then back at her…spirit? She seems to be made entirely of chakra right now, but it's not like the Yamanaka Clan's jutsu where their spirit is invisible and moves in a straight line to possess their opponent. Her spirit is outside of her body and moving around at her own will. I've only ever heard of Tailed Beasts doing this. Massive concentrations of chakra moving about by their own free will. Usually attacking something.

She stops spinning around and faces me, smiling brightly and in stark contrast to the bleak, despondent air she had when I found her in the pond. Her energy continues to bubble just under the surface, but she slowly becomes quiet, calm, warmth seeping from her smile. "…Thank you, Sasuke." She approaches and holds her hand up to touch my cheek. I can feel the warmth, but not the touch of her hand itself.

With a slightly sad expression, she lowers her hand and stares at it. "I see, so I can't touch you while I'm like this. I suppose that makes sense. This form is made purely of chakra, after all."

That explains what I saw. "So this is your power?"

"Mhm." She nods slightly. "This is my family's ability. To expel the spirit from our bodies and take on the form of our ancestors. I'll need some practice before I can do that, but…now my spirit isn't locked up inside my body anymore. The door to the shrine is open, and now the dragon within can emerge." She clenches her fist, as though testing her spirit body's sensory perception and reflexes. "Which means…it's time to start moving again."

I can't say that I disagree. But I glance at her motionless body anyway. "And your body?"

She laughs softly and turns away from me, walking towards Jugo. "I slip back inside. It is MY body, after all. I can't stay outside of it indefinitely. I would die. Besides, Suzaku is still in there, and I would never leave him behind."

That's a good point. After all, it's not just her power I want, it's both of them. "Then we'll move out when you're ready." We've had more than enough time to recuperate in this place, and we've stayed here longer than we should have. She's right. It's time to move again.

With a last smile back at me, she dissolves into a mist of light that swirls around her body, soaking in through her skin as her chakra returns to her veins. Whole again, she takes a deep breath and leans into Jugo's embrace.

My eyes narrow slightly as I approach Jugo and take her from his arms, cradling her protectively in my own. "The rest of you go pack up camp. We leave in half an hour."


	46. A Handful of Sand

**So, apparently I'm someone's lady. ;) Not usually a title applied to me, but I'll take it. I tried to make it as grandiose and majestic and mystical as possible, since we're essentially diving into Shinto deity territory.**

 **Sorry mikan, no clashing for you, not yet, anyway. But I'm going to switch up a lot of stuff during the Kage Summit arc, and the encounter you were hoping for here is going to happen there instead. In fact, I have many plot points that rely on that.**

 **Anyway, this chapter marks the start of the transition into the Pain Arc (which includes the Sage Mode training for Naruto). And it is going to involve A LOT of pain.**

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

"Could you explain to me again why we're taking you to the Land of Wind?" Suigetsu jumps along behind me in the trees, voicing his third complain in the last hour for our current route. "I mean, can't we just drop you at the border of the Land of Fire, then get out of here before the Leaf finds us?"

Truthfully, his suggestion is sound, and I wouldn't be opposed to doing it that way. But the heavy gaze on the back of my head objects silently. I sigh and roll my eyes, and I'm sure that Sasuke can tell. "We're going to the Land of Wind because I'm friends with their Kazekage. A certain someone is very paranoid about my safety, and since he won't let me fly home on my own, this is the compromise. Because as interesting as traveling with you four is, I have responsibilities back in the Leaf and other things that need doing." Plus, I'll silently admit to being a little homesick. These past several days with Taka have only served to remind me that I have people waiting for me to come home.

I can feel Sasuke's gaze hardening into a glare as he bristles behind me. "I found you in a dungeon."

That's fair, I guess, but I think he has the wrong impression of me. "Half of the Akatsuki is dead, and I had the other half coming down on top of me in that fight. Utakata and I were severely outnumbered."

The glare doesn't lessen in the slightest, and all it does is make me want to turn around and smack some sense into him. _I wonder if this is how she feels when she gives Naruto those love taps of hers…_ Except that she actually goes through with the motion when Naruto deserves it. I can't even claim as much in this situation.

Suigetsu leaps ahead to keep pace with me, staring at me incredulously. "And how the hell did you survive that at all?"

"I'm a jinchuuriki." That's really the only truthful answer I've got. "How else would I have recovered in a week from injuries that should have taken me three months to heal?" Though maybe saying recovered is being a bit generous. I'm still not in top form, and it'll take a little while longer to get there, but I can do it, I know I can. I have to.

"Okay, well then what were you and Sasuke doing to delay us like that?" Suigetsu frowns and I really don't want to think about what he's asking about. "I mean, we left three hours later than we were supposed to. Don't tell me that you two snuck off to make out or something."

 _If only…_ "No, we didn't." I would have preferred that to what we were actually doing.

* * *

 _It wasn't easy, that's for sure. But…I've come to a decision. I know that Sasuke won't be happy about being delayed by a few hours, but I feel like this is something I need to do. And for that, I need Sasuke to agree to it. Because it would be wrong to do this without his knowledge and consent._

 _I take the scroll from my bag and lay it out on the ground, staring at the spot behind the shrine that has a beautiful view of the valley below. I think he would like this view. That's why I picked this spot. Itachi always did like beautiful sights like this when we were younger. So the least I can do for him is give him a place where he'll be able to look at them forever._

 _Nearly silent footsteps approach me from behind, denoting a familiar, comforting presence. "Ciara, it's time to go."_

 _I look back over my shoulder at Sasuke, holding his gaze for a moment then looking back down at the scroll. I brush my fingers along the seal and examine it sadly, my heart fighting to stay together, to not shatter again just yet. "Not yet…there's something that I need to do before we go. I just wanted to ask you first."_

 _There's a moment of silence as he steps closer. "What is it?"_

 _I wave my hand over the scroll and smile sadly. "He…never had the seal on him that my family placed on clan members who possessed kekkai genkai. I know that you've stored his eyes in my medical bag, but if there's something else that his body could tell people…then I think it's better not to bury him in the Leaf for now." Besides, at least here…Sasuke could come visit without feeling threatened._

 _Sasuke's presence fills the silence, growing until it's almost unbearable. "…You want to bury him here."_

 _"Yeah." I take a deep breath, trying to hold back the tears misting my eyes. "I think he would like it here. And he'd be protected. No one would think to look for him at an eight hundred and fifty year-old shrine. And his spirit will…be at peace here with my ancestors."_

 _The silence stretches on again. Sometimes, I just wish that Sasuke would say something without going all quiet, but I know how important this is to him, and I know that it's not a decision to be made lightly._

 _He places his hand on my head and strokes my hair gently. "Fine. We bury him here."_

 _My lips curve into a soft smile, even as tears course down my cheeks. I hold on tightly to Itachi's simple necklace hanging around my neck, the three little circles laying there as if they were finally coming home. Home to my heart._

 _I wish I could say that I remained cool and dignified while making him a proper grave and carving out his name on the truly ancient magnolia tree._

 _I didn't._

* * *

"I don't want to talk about it." I don't snap, my voice is soft. So soft that I can barely hear it myself. But I know that I shouldn't snap, no matter how much it hurts, and no matter how fresh the wounds are. Itachi and Shisui would both chide me for getting mad at someone who asked an innocent question, even if Suigetsu can be annoying as hell sometimes.

"But-"

"Shut up, Suigetsu." The glare intensifies again, but at least this time it's not directed at the back of my head. "It's none of your business what we did."

"Fine, fine!" Suigetsu finally throws up his hands in surrender. Honestly, I feel like he should learn when to just bow out of a conflict. Because one of these days, it feels like Sasuke might actually kill him with a death glare to the back of the skull.

I throw a look over my shoulder and smile softly. "Sasuke, be nice to your teammates. You're the one who has to live with them, after all. And they can make your life easier or harder, depending on how you treat them."

"Hn." I get an answering glare, but there's no heat to it, it's like he's not even trying. And the half-hearted attempt at a glare just makes me smile a little wider.

"Now…" I turn my gaze forwards again, towards the Land of Wind and the Sand Village beyond the border. "I think it'll be a few hours at least before we run into any search teams, but all of your should keep your guards up just in case." While I would love it if Sasuke would come back to the village with me, I realize that it's not an option right now. Not for him, and certainly not considering the danger there would be in his return.

And that danger has a name…

Danzo.

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

I keep playing it over and over in my head, the moment we left Itachi behind in that place. It burns a pit in my stomach to bury my brother but…at least he's been laid to rest in a place where he will remain undisturbed forever. He deserves that much, at least. And I'll be grateful forever for what Ciara's done for him, even though she arrived too late to save him. At least she tried.

That's more than I could do for him in the end.

"So you seriously got trapped on a burning ship and that's how your hair caught fire?" Surprisingly, Karin's warmed up to Ciara. I thought she'd be more insistent on sticking her nose where it isn't wanted. Between me and her.

"That's mostly right." Ciara's thin braid and flood of loose chocolate strands fly in the wind behind her, longer than I've ever seen on her before. "I wasn't on the ship for very long, but I told everyone to get off of it as soon as they could. I also had to warn Sasuke not to try and light the place up since the enemy ninja were covering the boat in oil. But then an arrow hit the boat and burned most of my hair off before I could get into the water."

I narrow my eyes at the way she puts it. I remember that mission, the one to the Land of Tea. I'd gotten off the boat by that point and was swimming for Sakura who'd gotten knocked out. But I never saw Ciara get off of it.

"Why didn't it all burn?" Jugo asks one of the questions on my mind. It's convenient to have him here, and even Suigetsu. The more questions they ask, the less I have to.

"That's simple. It's because of something that I started doing when I went with Jiraiya and Naruto to go and track down the current Hokage." She pulls a kunai from her pouch and pulls a lock of hair into her hand, pressing the kunai to it and slicing through it. Except that it doesn't, and the hair comes away perfectly undamaged. "I've been treating it with chakra. And since one of my primary natures is fire, the part that had grown since I started treating it was left untouched and only the old stuff burned."

She shoves her kunai back into her kit and lets the hair fly back over her shoulder. "I got the idea from Ino during the Chunin Exams when she cut off her ponytail and ran her chakra through it. I wondered if maybe I could do the same thing and run chakra through it, only with it still attached."

Jugo nods, his eyes trailing over the braid swinging around behind her. "So it worked?"

Ciara laughs and grins widely. "Yeah, it worked a lot better than I hoped. It's fireproof, can't be cut by ordinary weapons, and I can conduct chakra through it like a chakra blade. So if anyone tried grabbing it…" Her chakra flares and gusts of wind pick up around her, sending the chocolate locks through the air as tiny blades of wind fall off of them, quickly morphing into writhing tongues of flame, and finally little parks of lightning flaring across the strands like static. "They'll get more than a small surprise. I can push my chakra out from the roots towards the ends like a chakra scalpel."

That seems quite useful, and turns what would normally be a disadvantage into a hidden weapon. _Smart…_ "Does the chakra current run only in one direction?" It would be a good thing to know for future reference.

She glances back at me, then stops abruptly on a branch just ahead. "I don't know, I haven't tested it." She turns and tilts her head curiously, like she's seriously considering my proposed idea. "Though that would be pretty convenient for combination attacks. A friend could funnel a second or third chakra nature into me while I'm already focused on one or two attacks."

She hasn't test it, and it almost sounds like… "Hn." I shake my head and can't help the smirk that rises to my face as I make the jump over to her branch. She eyes me curiously as I reach for a lock of her hair. I twist it around my fingers and let a tiny stream of Chidori flow into it. The sparks of lightning race up from the ends, unbidden.

She shivers, giggling a little. How long has it been since I last heard a girl giggle without it annoying me? "I guess that answers that question. Good to know." She raises a hand to her mouth and tries to stifle her laughter. "C-could you stop? That tickles."

For a second, I entertain the thought of not letting go and instead keep going and tickle her into submission. Maybe then, she might reconsider going back to the Leaf. Because I know that if she goes back, this smile on her face could be destroyed by the man I'm going to kill.

Her hand rises to touch mine, clasping around my fingers. It's smaller than mine. Not by too much, but enough to feel the difference. And they're smooth, soft, despite the practice she's had throwing weapons.

Weapons… I frown and release her hair, then move to remove my wrist guards. I'd prepared them all to use against Itachi, but…now I don't need them anymore. "Here." I peel one of the summoning seals from my left wrist along with all of the tape keeping it in place. Then my fingers work along her wrist, fastening it there before moving to the second. If I can't be there to protect her, then I'll leave her an armory's worth of shuriken to do the job instead.

Her eyes widen as she stares at the seals. "Sasuke…" She smiles softly. "…Thank you." Then she pulls a couple of wrist guards from her own pack and clips them on over top of the seals. With a flick of her wrist, a blade springs from the right one, and a second flick returns the crescent shaped blade to its hidden place within the guard. "Now I'll have you protecting me, too."

Ciara's gaze shifts to my face, her eyes alight with determination. "You'll keep in contact, right? I won't have to leave the village to figure out where you've gone and what's going down while you're not somewhere I can keep an eye on you, am I?"

I dread having someone keeping tabs on me. But I'll keep this one line of communication open. "I can send Garuda with messages. I could send them to the Forest of Death."

"No need." She shakes her head and squeezes my hands. "Send Garuda to the highest peak overlooking the Leaf. That's where I live."

"You live on a mountain?" And for a minute, I'd forgotten that I have some of the most annoying teammates in the world.

"Yeah, I do." Ciara looks over her shoulder at the idiot, her smile still plastered all over her face. "The family estate has been there for centuries, at least. Probably longer, though. But most of the buildings aren't more than five hundred years old, I think. It's called Tenryuusai, The Holy Dragon Mountain."

That's the same name that she said before, when she made her spirit leave her body. "It's a real place?"

She nods slowly, the smile waning a little. "Yes, and the village is built in the shadow of that mountain. I guess they wanted divine protection." What remains of her smile grows bitter, so I clasp my hand around her wrist. She smiles faintly, but without the bitter edge to it. "Thank you, but I'm okay."

I want to believe that she's telling the truth.

"Sasuke!" Karin hisses quietly as her chakra flares for a brief moment. "We've got company. There's two teams of four heading our way and fast. They're coming from the west."

"The west?" That could be the Leaf, on their way back from the Land of Wind. But considering how close we are to the border, I think it's more likely to be a couple of teams from the Sand. "Keep an eye on their approach." Ideally, we pass Ciara off to them, and they pass her off to the Leaf who should be sending teams out into this area soon.

Even though I'd rather keep her.

She shifts in my grip and I just catch a gasp of surprise falling from her lips. I look down to see a white and brown eyeball sitting in her hand. It definitely wasn't there before.

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

I stare at the stray eyeball in my hand and I just…can't help but burst out laughing. "Really?" Of all the ways he could choose to track me down, he chooses this method? I glance at Karin and wave my hand. "Don't worry about it, it's not the Leaf. These teams are from the Sand." Then I turn to Suigetsu. "Though you might want to be on your best behaviour. The Kazekage himself is coming this way."

"What!?" Suigetsu's hand goes to the hilt of his sword. "Then what the fuck are we still doing here? We should scram while we've got the chance."

I sigh and roll my eyes, turning my attention back to the eyeball in my hand. "There's no need to run. He isn't going to hurt anyone. He's just here for me." I smirk as I lock my gaze with the eye made of compressed sand. "Right, Gaara?"

"Sasuke, there's a huge wave of chakra heading right for us!" Karin jumps to the branch right between Suigetsu and Jugo. "We have to go now!"

"Hn." Sasuke takes a step away and puts his hand on the hilt of his sword. Honestly, it's such an overreaction. It's not like Gaara would ever hurt me. His days of being a sociopathic serial killer are long since over.

"Sasuke." I turn to him to extract that one last promise out of him. "You'll contact me, right?" The last thing I want is to lose track of him again.

His dark eyes turn on me and he puts his hand down on mine, obscuring the view of Gaara's Third Eye. "Yes." He releases the handle of his sword and wraps his cloak around me, holding it up high enough to cast us both into almost total darkness. All I see before me now is the ruby glow of his Sharingan.

A soft, smooth pressure covers my mouth, for only a mere few moments. Long enough to touch my heart, but not long enough to soothe the worries about leaving Sasuke behind. But that's simply a burden that I'll heave to learn to live with for now.

The cloak drops around us and Sasuke takes a step back, his gaze turning towards the west were grains of sand float through the air around us. I would almost think that it's just the desert winds blowing the remnants of a sandstorm into the trees, but I know better than that. The air is thick with chakra, and I would know it anywhere. "Gaara…"

"Lady Shiryugu!"

"Lady Ciara!"

"Sensei!"

The cacophony of voices rings out around me, and from them, I can pick out both Masaru and Etsuko, two of my students from the Sand. Now that takes me back. I wish that better circumstances had brought me into their lives, but at the very least, it sounds like they're still doing very well.

The first face I see is Masaru's as he lands on a large branch not twenty feet away. The worry and excitement on his face melts instantly into relief. "Sensei, you're alright?"

"Yeah, I'm doing much better now that I'm not locked up in a dungeon waiting for my own execution." Which is essentially what that entire disaster boiled down to. "You've been sending out search parties for me, I take it?"

He rolls his eyes and straightens up, crossing his arms over his chest. "Of course we have. Lord Kazekage refused to sit idly when he heard that you'd been captured. We've been running search parties for nearly a month now, in addition to our regular patrols." He shrugs, as though that's not an incredible feat in and of itself. "We did manage to map out a lot of uncharted terrain while searching for you."

"Looking for the silver lining, huh?" I can't say that I blame him. Anything useful helps when you're on a mission where it feels like you're just spinning wheels.

"Of course, Lady Ciara." Etsuko lands next to him, a little out of breath. "And Masaru, you were supposed to wait for the rest of us, not go running off on your own to see Sensei."

Sasuke raises an eyebrow at me and I can already see the unspoken question in his gaze. So I just shake my head and smile at the two of them. "I taught them as part of the medical program when I was left here as an envoy to the Sand last fall. Masaru and I got off on the wrong foot, but we've managed to patch things up since then." Apparently more than I thought, since I wasn't expecting so many medics on a rescue mission. It's definitely not standard, which means that not only must they have volunteered for the mission, they must have pushed to be included in it.

One by one, five more figures enter the clearing. Mostly ANBU, by the looks of them, except for one particular blonde that I would recognize anywhere. "Good to see that you're still breathing." She smiles almost worriedly, despite her attempt at a callous tone. "You had us pretty worried for a while there."

"Sorry about that." Getting captured by the Akatsuki definitely wasn't in the plan when I raced off after Utakata to make sure that the Mist ANBU didn't try anything dirty while he made his bargain with them. In hindsight, I wish that had happened instead. I smile up at her and pick at the storage seals on my arms, hidden beneath my wrist guards. "As you can see, I had more than a little help in escaping from that place." If Sasuke hadn't been there, I'd definitely be dead.

Temari's eyes flick to Sasuke, suspicion growing in them. "Yes, so we've heard. Though we didn't know how much truth there was to it." She raises her hand slightly, as though to order the teams into action to apprehend Sasuke. But that's the last thing we need right now.

I hold my hand in the air and shake my head. "I wouldn't do that, Temari. They'll be leaving shortly. It's too dangerous for them to stay here, and there are certain…interested parties that would take drastic action if they managed to find these four. Parties who may be working against the peace and stability of the Great Nations." There, vague enough to avoid pointing fingers and revealing information, but alarming enough to get some attention.

Teal eyes narrow slightly, but she puts her hand back down. "Alright. We'll let them go. But what is it that you're talking about?"

"Well…" I swirls my hand through the air, collecting up some of the sand there. "It would probably be best if I discussed this privately with you and your brothers after I've had a chance to gather adequate evidence and information." Because apart from those three and my apprentices, I'd rather not trust anyone in the village to keep a secret that wouldn't get back to the wrong people. Because anyone who goes around ordering genocide is going to have allies tucked away.

"Very well." A gravelly voice appears close behind me, slipping out of nowhere with a swirl of sand. I turn slowly to see aqua eyes and blood red hair, and a relieved expression despite his stoic face. "Ciara."

"Gaara." I've never been so happy to see him in my life. Well, except maybe the time when he came back from the dead, but this is a very close second. "It's good to see you."

He raises his hand and sand swirls around me, lifting me from the branch and pulling me into the air and across the gap between us. I glance back at Sasuke and catch a hint of fire in his eyes, but it vanishes too quickly for me to interpret it. It's a little worrisome, but I'm sure that whatever it is, his team can handle him for now.

But, knowing that his Sharingan is still trained on me, I move my lips slowly and deliberately. Good luck and thank you. That's all I can do for him personally right now. When I get home, it'll be another matter entirely. I'll have access to my family's library again and I'll be able to look into all sorts of things that they've recorded. They'll probably be in the old journals. Dad's, maybe, but more likely Grandpa Daisuke's or Great Grandma Naomi's.

Gaara's eyes fix on Sasuke for a moment, then he simply nods as he folds me into his arms. "The Hidden Leaf Village sent out new teams two days ago when it was discovered that you were heading this way with Ciara. If you would rather not be dragged back unceremoniously, I would suggest that you leave, quickly." And what I take from that is that Gaara understood everything that I left unspoken. If Sasuke goes back now, willingly or otherwise, his life will be in danger. For now, it's best for him to stay out of sight.

Sasuke's gaze trails back to me after holding Gaara's for a moment. The fire is back, but dims again as he crouches and shoots up into the trees, followed closely by Jugo, Karin, and Suigetsu.

I sigh as I watch them disappear. I may not have known those three for very long, but I know that I'm going to miss them. Most of all, though…I'm going to miss Sasuke.

Once the four of them have disappeared from sight, Gaara looks to me and loosens his hold on me, letting his gaze rake over me and frowning. "You've lost weight."

That's a phrase I'm certain that most girls would be thrilled to hear. "Yeah…well, then Akatsuki dungeon doesn't come with a cafeteria or catering." But at least I've gained back most of it. I would hate to see what Gaara's expression would be if he saw the state I was in before. "But I'll be fine once I get back to the village and get some food into me and sleep for a week." Maybe fine is an optimistic overstatement, but I'd rather not make him worry any more than he already has.

He nods slowly, his sand still swirling all around us. "Would you like to come to the Sand to rest and recuperate?"

That sounds tempting, but I know better than to accept that offer. "I think we both know what sort of fit Naruto will have if I don't head home right away." Gods know just what sort of hell he's already raising back home.

"Ciara?" An exceeding familiar voice sounds just past Gaara, so I look over his shoulder to see Naruto standing there. He watches me, wide-eyed and more than a little shocked. "You're…"

"Naruto…" I glance over him once, my sense telling me that there's no enough chakra in him to be the real Naruto. This must be a clone. "…Which way is your real body?"

The clone steps back a pace and points to the south-east. "Everyone's that way. We came out here looking for you and Sasuke, and you let Sasuke…"

"I'll explain later, Naruto." I know that Naruto has to be tremendously disappointed that Sasuke is gone again, but once I explain to him what's going on, I think he'll understand. After all, more than just wanting Sasuke home, Naruto wants Sasuke alive and healthy. And if coming back right now means that someone is going to try and hurt him, I know that Naruto will agree that I made the right call.

…After he's had a chance to yell at me and get it out of his system. But then again, what are best friends for?


	47. Calm Before the Storm

**Wow, I feel really loved by all these reviews. Sorry that this chapter took so long, I got busy and had trouble finding the words. But I've finally found them, and things are about to go downhill, the heat up big time, because I think you all know what arc we're sliding into now.**

 **I'm glad to see that the sand eyeball went over well. I always thought that was a really cool trick. So, why not use it to track down a wayward jinchuuriki? I'd say that it works about as well as the Third's creepy magic crystal ball. (Still trying to figure out exactly where that thing went…)**

 **Also, Naruto's reaction last chapter was a bit knee-jerk. This chapter, he's had a few minutes to mull it over, and we'll see a more familiar reaction.**

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

I suppose that not everyone can say that they've been escorted back to their people by the leader of a nation, the daimyo aside since they're practically useless. Still, I can feel the weight of Gaara's gaze on my back, and it's not an easy weight to bear. Within lies the worry, the fear, and the anger over the situation I found myself in. And I know well enough that I'm in no fit emotional state to deal with all of that right now.

"Hey, Sensei, are you sure that you're okay to be traveling?" Masaru leaps to my side, his eyes running over me critically, assessingly. "Did they treat your injuries properly?"

"Masaru…" I sigh and shake my head. "They didn't need to. My body can take care of itself as long as I have food and sleep. They made it possible for me to get both." I smile softly and bump into him with my shoulder. "So cool it, I'm fine." At least on the outside.

"Alright, fine. But what about that rogue ninja you were with? Uchiha?" I wish he wouldn't press, but I know it comes from the right place. "Was it really alright to be traveling with him?"

"Yes, I was perfectly safe with Sasuke." Of that, I never had a doubt. "We were classmates once, went on some missions together, and know each other well enough that I felt perfectly safe knowing that it was Sasuke who rescued me from that place." Because unlike his temperament around Naruto, I can be fairly certain that any argument between myself and Sasuke would not devolve immediately into a fist fight. Or worse. Particularly as the two in question seem a little too fond of throwing whatever new ninjutsu they've been practicing at each other. I wish they would find a healthier outlet for dealing with their pent-up aggression. Either way, I have no interest in participating in their dick-measuring contest.

There's a long moment of silence, then Etsuko's voice penetrates my consciousness. "What happened to you out there?"

And there it is, the question that I hoped to never have to answer. But I know one person will be able to get those answers out of me no matter how hard I try to stop him. "…I'd rather not talk about it." Fortunately, that person is not Etsuko, so I should be spared an interrogation for now.

"Okay." I can at least commend her ability to back off when it's clear that she'd not going to get an answer. "…Did you at least get some intel on the Akatsuki?"

Now that's a more satisfying topic. And despite the fact that I lost my battle, I can definitely say I learned a lot. "Yeah, of course I did. Do you think I had my eyes closed while they were ganging up on me?"

Masaru chuckles. It's a nice sound, despite the topic. "Of course not. Did you make sure to comment on their inefficient chakra use while you were there?"

A sharp smack rings through the woods, and I can't help but smile. _Definitely my apprentices…_ I kind of have to wonder just what's been happening between those two since I've been away.

"Ciara." Gaara's deep, raspy tone pulls me from my happy place and back to attention. "What do you plan to do when you return to the Hidden Leaf?" And that question sure puts a damper on my mood.

"What do I plan to do?" Honestly, that's a lot of things. So many things that they'll keep me busy for months, at least. "First…I'm going to bury our kin. Then, I'm going to start doing some…cleaning. There are a few things that concern me, and I can't just let them be." I force a smile and glance back over my shoulder at him. "I'm sure that you know that every village has its secrets. I think it's about time my village confronted its own." It's long past due.

He nods slowly, understanding blooming in his gaze. Long ago, I met the elders of his village, especially those sitting on the council. And I can't say that I care for many of the older ones. They're so stuck in prejudice and tradition that one of these days, they're going to end up destroying themselves.

I'm not happy with what they do to Gaara, but at least their path of self destruction should be morbidly entertaining to watch. "Maybe you should consider doing some house-cleaning of your own. There's no telling what sorts of old relics you'll find that need replacing or gems that have been overlooked and left to gather dust."

The faintest trace of a smile appears in those teal eyes. "Your words are cautious and wise. I will take them into consideration."

Good, because the last thing I need is to have to rush back to the Sand to look after Gaara while he roots out his rats in the middle of my own investigations. Looking into the Leaf's internal affairs is going to be difficult enough to do without interruptions from other nations. "Just try not to stir up all of the hornets at once unless you have a plan for trapping them first. They'll be all too eager to sting you if you alert them to your intentions."

"Noted." I could swear that he sounds amused at my attempts to give him political advice. But honestly, I just see it as practical advice. You never want to have a traitor watching your back and you certainly never want to unleash an angry mob without some way to channel their energy away from where it might end up doing a lot of harm.

Easy, right?

"Ciara!"

I barely have time to register the identity of the voice yelling my name before a huge blur of orange and black and bright blond hurtles into me and knocks me out of the air mid-jump.

My back slams into a wave of sand, and I groan as the weight on top of me circles around me, squeezing me tighter than I expected, given the clone's earlier reaction. But I guess this is just what happens after he's had a chance to let it stew and think it over. "Naruto…you're squeezing me half to death." At this rate, I think that my lungs are seriously going to pop.

"Sorry!" He lets go of me pretty fast, but only for a second as he jumps to his feet and pulls me along with him. And when I open my eyes again, I see worried sapphire eyes staring at me. "…Are you…okay?"

I groan softly and rub the back of my head sheepishly. "I will be once this goose egg you gave me goes away." And enter the one person who could get me to talk if he really pushed it. I can't let him push me until we're alone, not until I'm away from so many eyes. "…I know you're angry about Sasuke…" Without knowing about the situation, I would be angry too. Or at least hurt and sad.

Naruto shakes his head and smiles, albeit a little sadly. "You…you had a reason for letting him leave, right? You're not someone who does something without a reason."

He's right. And I can hear the question he hasn't asked yet. It's obvious in his voice, in his eyes, and in the way that he grips my arms, like he's afraid that I'm going to disappear as well. "Yeah. There's a pretty important reason. But…I think we should discuss it when we're alone with Akito, Hiro, and Shikamaru." The less people who know, the better. We can decide who to include beyond my first picks later. "Just…know that it's to protect Sasuke from some people who would want to hurt him if he got anywhere near the village right now."

That gets me exactly the reaction I want, the reaction I expect. First, Naruto freezes, his gaze hardening and darkening. Then it clears again in almost an instant, replaced with a determined light. "So you'll tell me when we go home?"

"Yeah, I promise." I know very well that Naruto can be pretty impulsive and sometimes jump to all of the wrong conclusions, but I also know that sometimes, he can just…know things that others can't. Especially when it comes to Sasuke. "So just…wait for me to tell you when the time is right. We're going to need people on our side for this. People we trust. It's going to be dangerous, otherwise." It might be dangerous, even with the precautions. In fact, it's pretty damn likely.

"Okay." It's a huge weight off my shoulders when he finally smiles at me. "After all, if there's bad guys after Sasuke, then we gotta make sure that they can't touch him, otherwise he'll never come back to the village."

I wish it were that simple, but I suppose that's the general gist of things. "Yeah. We've got a lot to do first, but we just have to make sure that everything happens when it's supposed to. He's safe for now. That's what matters."

"Yeah…" Naruto sighs, then wraps his arms around me, squeezing me tightly against his chest. "I'm so glad you're okay. When Grandma Tsunade told us that you'd been captured by the Akatsuki…I thought…"

Yeah, I know what he thought. I know what I would have thought. What I would have dreaded. How could I not have? After what's happened to all the others… "I almost was." I swallow thickly and press my face to his shoulder. "…They got Utakata. We fought them, but we were outnumbered and they got us…" I fight back the tears threatening to spill from my eyes. "I couldn't save him…"

"Damn it." He growls softly in my ear, pressing me a little tighter against his chest. "Ciara…it wasn't-"

"Don't." I know that he just wants to make me feel better, but there's just no healing this. Not now, not when it's still so fresh. "Just…don't…not now. I want to go home."

"Yeah, okay, we'll go home." He pats me gingerly on the back as he loosens his grip on me, but the smile he tries to put on his face is marred by the frown he wears as he looks at me. All I can guess is that I still show signs of my imprisonment. And of all people, Naruto would know best the differences between before that last mission and now. Somehow, it seems like Naruto always knows.

"Ciara!" I raise my eyes to the tree branches above just in time to see Sakura and Ino land up there, followed swiftly by Kakashi, Sai, Kiba and Akamaru, Chouji, Hinata, Shino, Lee, Tenten. _Wow, they really pulled out all of the stops._ The last time I saw a team this big heading out on a mission, we were racing to back up Gaara and his siblings in their pursuit of the assholes who'd kidnapped his student and tried to suck all of Shukaku's chakra out of him. Is it wrong to be surprised that apparently, they're out here for me?

Sakura watches me with those pale jade eyes, visibly searching my face for answers. "…Is it true, what they said about Sasuke rescuing you?"

I don't know if that's the version she was given, but I'm glad that it's the one she's going with. "Yeah."

"Of course it is." Kiba's nose twitches, and he rubs a finger under it as though trying to focus on a smell. "His scent's all over her. She's been with him for a few days, at least, and he's only left recently. She's got a few other scents on her, the same scents as last time."

Ino's eyes widen as Kiba delivers that little bombshell to the rescue team. "Then what are we waiting for!? We should go after Sasuke and bring him-"

"No!" My fingers clench in Naruto's jacket as I look up at all of them. "…No…he can't come back to the village yet. It's…not safe for him there."

Sakura frowns. "If this is about that time that Sai tried to kill Sasuke, he's promised that he's not going to do that again."

"…What now?" I hadn't heard about THAT little gem before. I turn my eyes on the milky pale artist and narrow my eyes. "And just when did this happen?"

He blinks and takes a step back, holding up his hands. "It was on the mission I was assigned to with Team Kakashi while you were serving as ambassador to the Sand. But I promise, I have no intention of killing Sasuke now."

But that means that he did, and while I can see no lie in his words, I still don't like the idea that someone would be trying to kill my… Should I…really just call him my cousin? "I see." Not that it matters right now. I can figure out all of that later. "But…no, Sasuke isn't coming back just yet. There's things that need to be done first before that can happen." Rats that I intend to root out and toss into the fire to burn. If I don't, he'll never be safe, he'll always have to look over his shoulder for an enemy.

Sakura jumps down and lands on the branch next to me. "What's going on? What are you talking about?"

I take a deep breath and shake my head. "It's not something to be discussed where anyone can overhear us. So please, just…take me home."

There's a moment of silence, then Kakashi nods. "Then we'll head back to the Leaf immediately."

"Good." I wiggle out of Naruto's grasp and jump towards Gaara and the medical rescue unit he's thrown together. I wrap my arms first around Masaru and Etsuko, then save one special hug for Gaara. "Thank you. I knew that my faith wasn't wasted." I knew that Gaara would have people out looking for me. And it wasn't much of a surprise to find him out looking for me as well. After all, when he went missing, me and Naruto were both on the team that went out looking for him.

His warm aqua eyes brighten a little with a concealed smile. "Be careful."

"I will." I won't make the mistakes I did last time, and I'm not severely outnumbered, no matter what comes at us. I couldn't save Utakata, and I will carry that guilt for the rest of my life. But with Naruto and our friends here, I'm not going to go down so easily again. "Take care of yourself, Gaara."

He smirks softly. "I should be saying that to you."

I sigh and shake my head. "I won't be caught off-guard like that again. I promise." The Akatsuki won't take me a second time. Not alive, anyway.

"Alright." His sand tickles me as he embraces me once more. "Watch out for danger when you return to the Leaf, it lurks in every corner."

Don't I know it… "Yeah, I'll keep my eyes open. You should do the same." Because if what Sasuke said is true, then this Danzo would have needed footholds in other nations, people in power, people in the shadows. "Watch the shadows. You have no idea when a kunai might be pressed to your back."

Gaara nods, his aqua eyes resting on me for a moment more. "…Stay safe."

He's such a worrywart. "I will." I won't be caught off guard again with Naruto watching my back.

The thing is, as I turn to rejoin the almost obscenely large rescue party, a shiver races down my spine. For a few seconds, I freeze, unable to place the feeling exactly. But I know that I'm being watched. So I sneak out a tendril of energy, reaching out as I turn my head to the north, peering through the trees.

When the energy connects, I relax in an instant. I don't even need to see through the trees to know that there's two ruby red eyes peering at me through them. I shoot a faint smile, seemingly at nothing, and let my eyes glow gold and scarlet and orange. I can see just the faintest traces of their heat signatures from here, but sure enough, there's four of them hanging out in the trees to keep an eye on me.

I raise my hand and wave goodbye, knowing that he'll see it. _Paranoid, much?_ Still, it's both reassuring and amusing to know that even now, he's still watching me, making sure that I leave for home safely. It's nice to have people to amuse me when I can't manage to amuse myself.

Naruto frowns at me as I slip into the middle of the almost dozen-strong rescue team. "Hey, what was that about?"

"Oh…nothing." I smile at the question, before letting it fade as I look back towards the village. "It was just someone paranoid who wanted to make sure that I was handed off safe and sound."

The implication of just who it was hangs heavily in the air. But I don't care, we can have show and tell when we get home. Right now…I have more important things to do than answer twenty questions about the who, what, when, where, and why involving Sasuke Uchiha.

I have my kin to bury, and a genocidal maniac to prove guilty or innocent.

* * *

Tsunade's P.O.V.

"Yes, that's the situation now." _And just when things were finally starting to look up._

Pakkun pads about on my desk, and I don't have the heart to tell him to get off of it. "You know that those two are going to take it hard, don't you?"

"Yes, I know." Better than most, I know. It's a hard and bitter pill to swallow, and not one that I'm unfamiliar with.

 _Damn you, Jiraiya, you wretched fool! I didn't send you out there to die! I sent you to gather intel! Was that so hard!?_

But…no, I shouldn't blame Jiraiya, and I know that. Gods, do I know that. It feels like it did back then, before the last two wars. It feels like the calm before the storm, with little thunderclaps showing up just often enough to disturb the peace and set everyone on edge, just waiting for the first devastating lightning strike. The first winds that threaten to rip buildings from the ground.

 _We've taken out so many of the Akatsuki. We have Sakura to thank for Sasori, Naruto single-handedly brought down Kakuzu, and Shikamaru buried Hidan. My lips twitch into a smirk. And we even have Sasuke Uchiha to thank for taking out Deidara. Not to mention Orochimaru. And now he's rescued one of the village's greatest treasures from the Hidden Rain._ I never thought we'd owe him so much. Once upon a time ago, I never imagined I would be offered the post of Hokage. It's funny how life works out like that. It never gives us what we want, but always gives us what we never expected.

"Lady Tsunade?" Pakkun taps his paws and stretches across my desk. "Is there anything you'd like me to relay to Kakashi? Those two are going to be back in the village in a couple of days. We should be prepared for that."

"I know." And it's the part I'm dreading most. I hold back the tears. There will be time for that when the day is done and when I'm alone. Once is enough for now. "Tell him what's happened, but tell him that he's not to inform Naruto and Ciara until they've had a couple of days at home." No matter how well she's holding it together on the outside, after the last month and a half, I know that she's going to have deep scars. And the temptation to ignore them completely might be too much for her to resist.

"Gotcha." Pakkun finally hops off my desk and bounds towards the door. "But it's not going to be pretty when you tell them. The girl's already grieving for her uncle, and for that other jinchuuriki as well. From what I can tell, she's bringing their bodies back to the village. She's going to bury them herself."

"Of course she is." I've studied the reports, and I've studied Nori's case file from decades ago. No matter how we play this, and no matter how it's delivered, it's going to be bad. She is just…not the kind of being that can handle being given bad news. But this isn't something that I can just hide. It;s going to slap her in the face sooner or later.

I clasp my hands together and squeeze my eyes shut. "As long as she's alive, she can recover." I think… But she'll need Naruto to do it, and this is going to destroy him as well.

 _Damn it, Jiraiya! Why did you have to leave me to do damage control with YOUR students? You were supposed to come back and handle them yourself..._

"Lady Tsunade?" The door swings open and I lift my gaze to see Shikaku standing there with enough files to worry me. "I have the report you asked for."

Oh good, a distraction. And the one that I specifically made my office immune to eavesdropping for. "Bring them here." I hold out my hand for the stack of files. Maybe something good can come out of this mess.

He places two of them in my hand and the rest on my desk. "It's as you suspected, Lady Tsunade. We're turning up a lot of unsanctioned actions and blank records, as well as suspicious hospital records and death certificates."

I start flipping through the first of the files, one on all of the ANBU employed in the last fifty years. There's more than a few things that don't add up. Suspicious deaths, disappearances, instances where there was no body recovered when there should have been, instances where there was a body when there shouldn't have been, and the subsequent disappearance of those bodies. And then there's the disappearance of ANBU Black Ops members, as though they vanished into thin air.

 _Danzo…_

If I had known that this was what I was going to be dealing with, I would have had that old man arrested, locked up, and thrown away the key years ago. "And the most pressing of these issues?"

Shikaku frowns, and I don't like the look on his face. "Shikamaru and Akito have gotten us almost complete access to the library, and it's looking more and more like an overthrow of the system and a grab for power." He sighs and shakes his head. "There's one more thing."

Of course, there's always something else. "What is it?"

"It's something that I remember from the time of the Fourth Hokage. It was a meeting between Lord Fourth and Lord Ryouta that I was asked to attend and mediate." Somehow, with those two mellow characters at the table, I doubt that there was much 'mediation' required. "During that meeting, I was allowed by Lord Ryouta to view the terms of a treaty drawn up in the days of your grandfather, the First Hokage. And Lady Hokage, you should know that if this tragedy was orchestrated by someone in the village, it's to be considered treason."

Treason, which is one of the few crimes that merit capital punishment. "I see. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. If there's nothing else right now, go home and get some rest."

He bows as a courtesy, but his gaze never leaves mine. "Of course, My Lady. We'll pick it up again in the morning and have the initial reports ready for her when she's fit to hear them."

I sigh and wave him away. _In a fit state, huh?_ If only things were going to go that smoothly. I'm not certain that she's going to be in a fit state to do anything in the near future, not in whatever fractured mental state she'll be in when the news finally hits her. _Kurenai can speak with her, she's good with brats._

I glance once more at the files on my desk, the files that are most certainly going to have to be routinely sealed away in the warded trunk underneath my bed in my private quarters. I can't have all of the village's dirty laundry spilling out at once. That would be too much for even the intelligence division to handle. One step at a time. I sigh and take the files into my arms, then abandon my desk for a less stiff environment than my office. _I need sake…this is going to be another long night._


	48. The Place Called Home

**So…I got started on this chapter, got wrapped up in collab stories for a bit, and then came back and suddenly it was a flood of words. I'm not entirely sure how it happened, but by the time I realized that I was going to have to split this chapter in half to break it up into reasonable chunk for people to read, I was about six thousand words in, and still had two scenes to go.**

 **So…yeah, this chapter is going to be sad and bittersweet, but next chapter is going to throw us fully into the Pain arc with…arguably one of the most heart-wrenching parts in the entire Naruto series.**

 **Now enjoy, because the next chapter is coming up fast (currently working on the last scene of it when everything explodes, almost literally, and not in the fun or happy way, or even an evil bad guy way). Also, decided to include a Sakura P.O.V., since Kishi really shafted her character in the manga.**

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

It's been so long since I last saw the village, but the rest can wait. Home is what matters most right now. Home will always be what matters most.

The couches have been rearranged. There's multiple smells of food coming out of the kitchen. There's a few random noises here and there. A number of packs lay against the wall, and a few more hang from the railings.

"So…is someone going to explain how this happened?" I'm quite certain that when we left on that last mission, my house only had a few extra occupants. Namely, Naruto, Akito, Hiro, and a half here, half at her parents' house Sakura. And then Sai, who kind of appears and disappears as it pleases him. I'm not entirely sure if he sleeps in the house, but at this point he might as well.

Not that I mind having people in my house, I just hadn't expected our entire little brigade to have moved in here during my absence. But it feels…nice. This place feels…alive again.

"Uh…well…" Naruto rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "Everyone got kinda worried when you disappeared, and they all offered to help out. And we kinda…had them sleep over?"

Hinata twiddles her thumbs off behind Naruto, glancing at me shyly. "If…you're not comfortable with us being here…"

Where Hinata trails off, Ino picks up the tune. "We can clear out if you'd prefer. We all just kind of ended up staying by accident, mostly. Though I think Shika's here on purpose. But it's your house, so we shouldn't intrude."

"Yeah, we kinda just crashed here without asking, so we'll clean up and clear out for ya." Kiba runs his fingers along Akamaru's back, and I can't find that I mind too much that there's a dog in the house.

In fact, I mind more that they seem to think that they have to leave. The notion widens the small, dark hole inside me, the one left there by the one I laid to rest with my ancestor. "…No." That's not what I want. "You don't have to clear out." I swallow thickly and look around at each of them, half of them looking ready to go, the other half looking like they just arrived home.

 _Home…_

That's what I want, isn't it? A home? A family? So I hold my head high, even though I'm sure that my smile is a little weaker than I'd like it to be. "There's plenty of room here. I can't use it all up by myself. My…my clan is practically gone, but…this is the family home. MY family home. And my family will always find a home here." A couple of wet tears trickle down my cheeks as I try my best to keep smiling for them. "It doesn't matter if they're blood related or not, the people I consider family will always be welcome here. So if you've all picked out rooms…then they're yours to keep and to use whenever you like."

My fingers rise to clench around the small metal circles of the necklace hanging around my neck. If Itachi were here, he would wipe my tears, and Shisui would be right beside him, telling me to smile.

 _A little princess should always be smiling._

"Ciara…" Sakura's hands fall on my shoulders and squeeze there gently. "What's wrong?"

I sigh softly, but keep the smile there as best I can. "Everything except for you guys." But I'll deal with that shit later. I just…can't handle letting it all crash down on me right now. "Come on, let's eat." The only thing worse than brooding on a full stomach is brooding on an empty one.

"Sure." Sakura's hand slides down to rest just above the small of my back. She's warm. The touch is gentle. And the way Naruto looks at me, the way everyone else looks at me…for the first time in a very…very long time…

It feels like I'm really coming home.

* * *

Sakura's P.O.V.

"Hey Sakura…I'm worried." It's the first Ino's said since we took off to the kitchen to do the dishes after dinner. She'd volunteered us for it, even after Ciara offered to take over the cleaning. But she'd insisted that Naruto put Ciara to bed so that she could get some sleep. But I did wonder if something else was up with Ino.

I guess I was right. "So am I." There's no need to ask why, or about what. Or in this case, who. "The fact that she's home alive is…a miracle."

"Yeah…" Ino dries a couple of plates and puts the in the cupboard next to the stove. "Hey Sakura…why do you think she let us all stay if we wanted to? We're just freeloaders here, but she was totally fine with it."

I don't know if that's the best distraction from the real problem here, or the worst. "Well…" From what I know of her, and after having lots of time to study her behaviour, as well as her house, I've come to a few conclusions. "She's got a lot of money. And she told me once that there's actually a gold mine in this mountain that winds underneath the estate. So it's not like she couldn't handle a dozen, or even a few hundred people just living here. And you've seen the size of this place. Just this mansion is meant for like…thirty, or even fifty people." Not to mention the dozens of other buildings on the grounds.

"I guess that's true." Ino takes the next three bowls I hand her and balances two on her arm while she dries out the third. "But she doesn't even seem to think we're invading her personal space. I mean, it must have seemed like we just showed up out of the blue and took over her house, but then she offered to give us all of those rooms…permanently."

Ino's got a point. And I remember my first time sleeping over here. It was an accident, sort of. But ever since then, I've slept in the same room a door over from Naruto and I've got at least two weeks worth of clothes hanging up in the closet and folded up in the drawers. Not once did she ever tell me to take any of my stuff home. And when I pop down to the kitchen for breakfast, there was always enough food for four or five people. And whenever I made lunch while those two were training out in the back, there was always enough for her and Naruto, me, Sai, Kakashi-Sensei, and Captain Yamato.

Ciara's always been kind of strange, especially with how attached she is to Naruto. The two of them have even slept in the same bed at least a few hundred times. "I think…that she's more comfortable living in a noisy house with lots of activity. This place is built with thirty bedrooms, after all. She told us a few stories on the road about her family. When we first slept here, she told me that the room I had once belonged to her cousin Tatsuo. Naruto sleeps in the room that one of her uncles used whenever he was visiting." I wouldn't be surprised if she could tell us exactly who lived in every single room before her family was killed.

"Huh…so that's it…" Ino stacks a few more plates and her brow furrows. "She's used to the clan dynamic, where everyone lives in one house, or in a lot of houses close together, or an estate that's considered private property."

"Exactly. She's someone who's not meant to be on her own." I wouldn't really know about that. Sleeping here has actually been a bit of a shock. I get up, and instead of seeing my parents down at the breakfast table, there's my old classmates and upperclassmen running around making food, reading, training, doing whatever they want to do. It was annoying at first, but now it feels…warm. And I know that there's always going to be someone here when I get home.

I wonder…when did this place started feeling like home?

"Sakura." The sound of Shikamaru's usually lazy voice pulls my attention from Ino. Only, today he doesn't sound lazy. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Alright." I put down the wet, soapy cloth and rinse off my hands. "Ino, take over for the last few dishes."

"Alright." Her blue eyes gaze at me, then flick to her teammate, then back to me. "Then I'll go check on her in a bit."

"No need." Shikamaru crosses his arms and leans against the archway leading from the kitchen into the foyer. "Naruto's with her. I figured that she was going to have nightmares, so I told him he should stay in her room for tonight." He shrugs. "Turns out I didn't need to tell him, he was already planning on it."

In that case, it must be as bad as I'd hoped it wouldn't. "I see." I step away from Ino and out into the hall with Shikamaru. "…Lady Tsunade showed me the medical report and death certificate."

He nods, his gaze traveling up to the balconies of the second floor where the bedrooms ring the main hall. "So then you know what we've got to do, right?"

"Keep her happy." Which is seeming more and more like an impossible task. "But what if we can't?" If something else were to happen to her…after seeing Naruto running around like that, I don't know what he would do. I've only ever seen him that frantic about Sasuke before.

"Nothing good." Shikamaru holds up an old scroll and gingerly unrolls it. "I've been looking through the library with Akito and Hiro, and we've found a few old documents that contain worrying information. Including this one."

My stomach feels like it's filling up with lead. "What's in it?" If Naruto is the one who has to protect her from nightmares, then maybe there's something that I can do to help.

"A lot of really old philosophy and metaphor, from what I can tell. But right here…" He points to a series of old characters that only vaguely resemble modern script. "I think I've managed to translate enough of it to get the general point. It talks about how the Old Ones, or Ancient Ones, were bonded or connected to the earth, to nature, and drew power from it. But here…" He points to another set of characters. "It says that they live in a cyclical relationship, a give and take, push and pull. Like Yin and Yang. They draw energy in, then give energy back. And they've been doing it for longer than records even go back. Before the first writing systems. But the writing is so old that the words are difficult to translate accurately."

"Okay…but what does that mean exactly?" I've never heard of these 'Ancient Ones' before. But if the writings are as old as Shikamaru is suggesting, then it's no wonder that I haven't. "Who are the Old Ones?

"Here." He points to a section of beautiful caligraphy, and to a series of characters aligned together, like a name. "It names one of the Old Ones. Yami no Enryuu."

"Yami no Enryuu…" I feel like I've seen that name somewhere before, just in different characters. Or maybe I heard it? It just sounds so familiar. "The shadow of the fire dragon…" If I'm right, that's what it translates to. Wait a minute… "Shikamaru, have you checked the room with the dragon statue in it for a match?"

He raises an eyebrow. "Not yet. Do you know something, Sakura?"

"I think so, but I'm not sure." I turn, my feet already carrying me towards the large doors at the far end of the hall. "Do you have any idea what it means by bonded? Is it literal or a metaphor?"

I can hear Shikamaru shuffling the paper as he follows me through huge, gilded doors into the second hall. "It could be metaphorical, but if it's literal, then we're looking at an actual push and pull of energy between the Old Ones and nature. Though how they managed to do that isn't clear."

"Of course it isn't." It can't possibly be clear if we're chasing down old fairy tales. "Do you think Ciara knows?" If she does, then maybe she can solve some of these mysteries for us.

"Maybe. Maybe not." He runs a hand along one of the walls, his fingers tracing the characters of one of the messages left behind here. "I've been in here a few times. There's a lot of wisdom on these walls."

"There sure is." It's like the wisdom of the ages has been collected just in this room. Now…if I remember right, we were at the other end of the hall when Ciara mentioned that name. "Yami no Enryuu…" The oldest sayings are around the dragon statue, so if he or she is on the wall, then that's about where the name will be.

The dragon stares down at me and I could swear that it almost looks alive. Whoever made the statue sure knew what they were doing. It's not that it looks creepy or anything, just…it looks like it can see right into my soul. Ciara gets that look on her face sometimes too.

 _Now…let's see here…_ I circle around the statue, staring up at the walls. The names here are hard to read, but I think I can eliminate the first two names since they just don't look similar to the one on the scroll at all. The third name, though… "Hey, Shikamaru, come here." I think this is the place where she mentioned the name, as well as what the words here said. "The weaknesses of love are greater than the strengths of hate. But the power attained through love will always find more strength than both." It's the one I remember best, because it makes me think of Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke eschews love because he thinks it makes him weak, but Naruto embraces it, even if it does, because it gives him something to fight for.

"You're right, the writing's right there on the wall." Shikamaru holds up the scroll to compare the names. The script on the wall is a bit more modern, but it's definitely a match. "I'd bet that these other three are these Old Ones as well."

"Dragons." Ciara had said that these were the names of dragons. "The Old Ones are dragons."

"Great, more work." Shikamaru sighs and rubs the back of his head. "Looks like we might have the why now."

"…Why what?" A cold seeps into my bones because I really don't like how Shikamaru said that.

He glances at me, an equally cold look in his eyes. "Why the last of the 'dragons' were exterminated eleven years ago."

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

Everything feels warm. Odd, since the last thing I remember is feeling cold and sad and lonely.

I open my eyes slowly, and my gaze is met with a very familiar mop of golden blond hair. The soft sound of snoring makes me smile and I reach out to ruffle those bright spiky locks. He barely stirs, but I suppose that's because I know him well enough to know exactly how much pressure I can use without waking him up.

After a couple of minutes of lazing about, I slip out of my bed and glance back at Naruto sleeping there in his forest green t-shirt and black pajama pants. He's sprawled over half the mattress, but that's fine, I never took up a lot of room anyway.

 _He must have come back after putting me to bed._ I would be a bit alarmed if it weren't for the fact that he used to sneak into my bed all the time when we were kids. He's always been a good ward against nightmares. _And ancestors know that I would have had a slew of them last night if it weren't for him._

But that doesn't detract from the nightmare that I still have ahead of me. The fight to get me out of the Akatsuki's grasp is over, but now there's a bloody aftermath to deal with.

I leave Naruto to sleep and stride over to my medical pack. I unhook the straps and lift the top. My fingers pluck the storage scroll from within and I stare at it, frightened of the contents. _Utakata…_

Part of me wonders if maybe I should have buried them in the same place as Itachi, but somehow, I feel as though it might be too dangerous to do it. These are bodies that, in the wrong hands, could cause a lot of damage. Besides, Itachi has his peace, now it's time to give some to my spiritual kin.

My fingers clench around the scroll and my eyes begin to burn. _I guess…it's time._ And it's best that I do this part without Naruto. He'll just feel guilty that he couldn't help any of them either, and there's no reason to make him share that pain before he has to.

I slide my window open and slip outside, closing the window carefully behind me. I take a deep breath and drop twenty feet to the ground, landing silently in the soft grass. _Someone's been taking care of this place…_ It's nice to see that someone has been putting effort into maintaining my ancestors' home. I certainly haven't been around to do it.

The buildings spread out in wide circles around me, leaving the lawn around the main house quite clear until it reaches the small forest of magnolia trees behind the house. _Perfect…_

I let my fingers brush against the petals of the blossoms as I walk into the sunlit woods. Faint memories of my childhood bubble up. I remember running through the trees and collecting the flowers for my father. Shisui would chase after me to make sure that I didn't trip on any roots out here. I tripped anyway, but he always kissed and bandaged my skinned knees, then told me to try running a little slower next time. I never really listened. But maybe that was because I liked it when he took care of me. How selfish was that?

A clearing opens up before me, ringed with magnolia trees. It's not the largest of clearings, but I think it should be big enough for what I need here. After all, there's six. I have six bodies that need to be buried, and I would rather that they be buried together. I know well how jinchuuriki are treated. I saw it firsthand with Naruto, and I've seen the glares pointed at us. I never said a word until I was old enough to handle the reaction. At least, I thought I could handle it. But the first time I saw a glare directed solely at me…I'm surprised that I didn't buckled under the weight of it.

So, I've kept quiet, and Naruto's been fine with that. He once told me that I had enough to deal with in my nightmares, that I didn't need to have to deal with the icy glares as well. Maybe it helps that they don't really even know what's in me. Suzaku never attacked them. It's not so personal.

Oh what a mess we've found ourselves in.

I unseal and roll out the scroll in the grass and examine the first name. Yugito Nii. If I recall correctly, she'd the one from the Cloud. I press my fingers to the small diagram, and her wrapped body poofs into existence. _Looks like I'll need to make hers six feet long to fit her in comfortably._

A haze falls over me. My movements feel slow, almost sluggish. I flick my wrist and the chakra blade along my arm springs out. I slice into the grass and slowly peel it back, carving out a patch of grass and wildflowers.

The ground gives way before me as I create a gentle depression. And just as gently, I move her from where she rests atop the scroll and into her new place. She may no longer breathe, but I do hope that her spirit will be happy here.

A tear drips down my face at the thought of not having Itachi's spirit here with me. It hurts to have to share him and have him so far away from me. But Sasuke deserves to be able to see him too. I couldn't have just kept him all to myself. It wouldn't have been right. It wouldn't have been fair. But it still hurts.

I wipe away the tear, as well as the second that falls down my other cheek. My fingers work carefully to harden the earth over her, and put back the grass and flowers over Yugito's grave. _Death should not look so beautiful…_

 _It is not death that is beautiful, Chick, but those things that you do to remember the dead that are wondrous in their own right._

I pause a moment as his words sink in. I suppose I should admit that he has a point. Not that it makes me feel any better about having to bury them all.

My hands press down once more on the scroll, and this time, a smaller figure wrapped in cloth springs forth. _Yagura…_ His is likely the smallest grave that I will dig today, but I will take just as much care, no matter how small or large each of them proves to be.

One grave, two, three. It feels as though the sorrow will never end. I hadn't gotten to know any of them as well as I would have liked. And only one of them did I have the chance to meet in person. But one day, when we have all passed, I hope to meet them and hear their stories.

Slowly, I replace the grass and flowers over Fu, the youngest of those I've buried today. I know her face well from my dreams, and I know that she was too young to die. It wasn't fair. She had a whole life ahead of her, and yet…

Roshi was older than the others. No doubt he had seen things in his life, actually had a chance to live his life before being hunted down like an animal. But most of my kin were in their prime, with whole lives ahead of them. And now those lives, those futures are gone.

The stones around me move, rising from the soil almost unbidden, except by the desires of my heart. I raise no questions, merely take a kunai from the pouch on my belt and dig the wind-sharpened tip into the surface of the rock as I kneel over Yugito's grave first.

Yugito Nii, Kunoichi of Kumogakure. And above her name, I carve the character for the number two.I will not run away from the knowledge of what she was made into, and I won't hide it from anyone else that I allow to come here to visit this place. These were all jinchuuriki, and that integral part of their identity should be included with all the rest. Whether it was a source of pride, or a beacon of hatred, it is part of what binds us together. And I refuse to let it go ignored.

Yugito, Yakura, Roshi, Han, Utakata, Fu. When all six are properly laid to rest, their names carved into the stones, and their graves covered in wildflowers and fallen magnolia blossoms, I finally stop. My hands are covered in dirt, and a few petals fall out of my hair when I move.

I feel sad, but also strangely happy. They're gone from this life, but now they can watch over the rest of us. They might not be here with us physically, but it's like I can feel them here. It's only a small bit of comfort, but it helps. I can't bring back the dead, but I can honor them and set their spirits at ease, at the very least.

For a while, I just watch as the suns rises in the sky, then starts going down again. I'm often restless, but there's a sense of peace here that calms me, lets me think. And every so often, a flower blows across my lap, fooling me for a moment into thinking that it's a bubble.

Warmth bubbles up inside of me, pushing away many of the less happy thoughts. And I know this warmth well. _I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble lately._ I feel as though he's been forced into looking after me, what with everything that's been happening lately.

That warmth curls around me like a gentle fire, and Suzaku speaks once more. _It is of no consequence, Chick. You have lost much and you are hurting. It is only natural for you to keenly feel the sting of those losses in your heart. And you will continue to feel the pain of those losses for a very long time. For now, all I can do is ease a little of the suffering in your heart._

"Thank you." I say the words aloud because honestly, I don't know who they're for. To Suzaku, for being my steadfast guardian for so many years? To Itachi, for showing that he still loved me in his mercy, in his attempts to keep me away from all the strife? To the ones now gone, freshly buried, and who remain living and in my life, who remind me that I am not alone? In this place, it feels as though no matter who the words are for, they can hear me. And maybe they're for someone else. Or everyone. Who knows?

I let a few last tears fall down my cheeks, then wipe them away and rise to my feet. The wounds are fresh and still bleeding, but they will not stop unless I DO something about them. And that means discovering the truth about one of those people who would seek to do harm to the ones I love.

Danzo.


	49. Shattered Hearts

**So here's the second half to that monster chapter I was writing, I got it done even faster than I expected, and I'm just too excited to wait to put it up. I'll give you guys a bit of hope before I wrench it all away. But I'll give it back later, I promise.**

 **And Mikan, now you get to find out what Tsunade is going to tell her. And the fallout.**

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

As expected, when I return to the house, I can feel the distinct pull of Akito's and Hiro's chakra. Though, perhaps a bit more surprisingly, they're not alone. One, two, three, four, five. Five other chakra signatures accompany the two of them. Two of which are quite familiar, three of whom only vaguely so.

Even more curiously, as I stride through the open doors of the library, is that they've holed themselves up in one of the work areas around one of the large tables meant for examining documents. _I wonder what they're up to…_

I turn the corner around a couple of tall bookshelves and raise an eyebrow as I come upon the sight of Akito and Hiro gathered around a table and a number of scrolls and folders, some of which most definitely do not belong in my family's library, with Shikamaru, Neji, Ibiki, as well as Shikamaru and Ino's fathers, Shikaku and Inoichi. If I were about to put together a team for serious investigations, this is the team I would most certainly put together. "What's going on here?"

Akito and Neji have their eyes on me immediately, faint looks of surprise coloring their features. The two Naras in my library, on the other hand, don't look surprised in the slightest to find me joining…whatever little intelligence session they've cooked up.

Shikamaru tilts his head and looks me over once. "We're doing an investigation on behalf of the Hokage."

"And that investigation includes rummaging through my library?" I mean, I know that I gave Hiro and Akito permission to be in here, and I don't really have an issue with the others being here as long as they keep out of the restricted sections, but why they would be conducting an investigation here is a bit… "What are you investigating?"

Neji's eyes remain fixed on me carefully as I stride towards their little group. "We are trying to determine the identity and motivation behind the one who orchestrated a great crime here."

Now that nearly freezes me in my tracks. Because I know very well that there's only one thing that could be. I glance at Akito, and he smiles grimly, nodding in confirmation of my suspicions. "…You're looking into who killed my family."

"We are." Shikaku unravels a bit more of the scroll in front of him, casting me a few side-eye glances. "And we have a few suspicions as to the why. We're also investigating someone that might still be a threat to your life now."

That certainly sounds familiar. It's the same worry I have about Sasuke coming back. "Then I suggest that you add a man named Danzo to whatever list you're building. I suspect he was behind my family's death, and subsequently, the genocide committed against the Uchiha Clan."

The looks they give each other is all I need to know that there's already something going on, and that I've just given them a name they already knew. Ibiki frowns. "And just where did you get that information?"

"From a reliable source, who himself got it from not so reliable a source." But judging by the reactions, it sounds like Sasuke's information might be on the right track after all. "How did you get onto Danzo's trail?"

This time, it's Akito and Hiro who share a look, and there's something in the worry creasing Akito's brow that I really don't like. The sudden tension in his body doesn't do anything to assuage my suspicions. "…Tell me, Akito."

My long-time friend sighs and puts down the small book in his hands. "After you were captured, Lady Tsunade came here to see me and told me about some…things that Danzo had said about you. I was the first one that she came to, and she was careful not to meet me in a place where we could be overheard. From what I can tell, he wants you dead. And I think it's not just because of what's inside your stomach." His eyes flick down towards where Suzaku's seal rests in my skin. "If he's the one who orchestrated the plot eleven years ago to kill off your family, it might have more to do with what's in your blood. And since we started looking, we've found some other stuff about your bloodline and your family's power that could cause a lot of complications for anyone wanting to seize power in this region."

"Hence the need to kill us all off." I grit my teeth and clench my fists. It's an old wound, but still open and raw. It doesn't always bleed, but even the smallest prodding can cause it to start weeping scarlet tears again. "…Alright. Tell me everything you've found out, and I'll record it, then send it off securely to my contact." If Sasuke keeps his promise, then I should be getting a hawk any day now, so I can just send the message back with that one.

"Sasuke's your contact, isn't he?" Shikamaru doesn't miss a beat, and like usual, he knows things that he really shouldn't.

A profound silence falls over the table as all eyes fix themselves on me. I look up, ignoring all but Shikamaru. "…Yes, it's Sasuke. That's why he's not here, and why the rescue team didn't come back with him, or even having tried to bring him back. He found me, rescued me, and I let him leave without a fight because it's too dangerous for him to be here if Danzo really is the one offing clans left and right." Even more so now if Akito is right, and Danzo wants me dead. Knowing Sasuke, and knowing the way he acted with me when I was with him, I wouldn't put it past him to try and assassinate Danzo on his own in order to stop him.

Hiro breaks the next bout of silence by opening a few files on the table. "You might be right on the killing clans left and right part. Akito and I started looking into foreign relations and we found a lot of mysterious circumstances. Right before the Third Great Ninja War, a lot of clans in foreign lands were mysteriously wiped out. Enemy lands, allied lands, and even neutral lands. Clans with a lot of political power, and especially bloodline clans were targeted and exterminated. It all coincides with the time when Danzo and his Root organization were most active. We don't have proof yet that he ordered any of them, but if we had enough time, we could probably find out which ones were him."

"If they were him." We can't yet make any assumptions, but I know better than to doubt either Akito or Hiro's instincts. "He had to have had help. One man can't reach across nations on his own." The fact that he sent a small horde of assassins to kill my family proves that much. "I've already warned Gaara to keep an eye out for treason in his ranks. If there's going to be someone allied with Danzo there, they'll have a high position from which they can operate more easily."

"That's very true." Shikaku's lips twitch into a tiny smile, approving of my line of thought. "If I were in their position, I would operate in a network connected by highly trained agents. Correspondence would be minimal to preserve the secrecy of the mission and security of interested parties."

Ibiki crosses his arms, his eyes glinting with anticipation. "All we need is a single agent to unravel, and the whole network can be unraveled from there. Every man has a point where he'll break."

I don't like the idea of torturing information out of someone who's just following orders. "Find physical proof first. I'd rather nail Danzo with that than resort to torturing information out of his subordinates."

Ibiki turns his frown on me, but Inoichi puts his hand on my old proctor's shoulder. "I know. That's what we're here to do. We've been looking through some of your grandfather's journals, and I have a few ideas on who might be part of this network. We'll find the right people."

My heart relaxes somewhat with Inoichi's assurance. Maybe it's because he has a teenage daughter of his own that he knows just what to say. "Thank you."

Even as Inoichi smiles at me, Ibiki's frown deepens. "As you say, Lady Shiryugu. But we cannot act like a bunch of soft-hearted fools with shinobi conditioned to kill without a second thought."

"I know." I just want to be sure that we don't end up hurting someone innocent in the process. That's what Danzo did. I refuse to sink myself to the level of a man who resorts to killing innocent people for his own ambitions. "And if it all turns out to be true, then I swear to you in the name of the dragons that I will help you to rip apart their network piece by piece."

Akito slides around the table to stand by my side as Hiro takes the other. "Alright, then let's get started. We'll compile all of our notes and you can decide which parts to send in your letters to Uchiha and to the Kazekage. It's best to have as many trustworthy people as possible looking, right?"

"Right." And this is exactly why Akito was first on my list for starting an investigation team. I guess Tsunade sees the same things in him that I do. He's loyal, intelligent, moderate, but willing to go to the mat for the people he cares for. For me.

Though I'm sure that he'd go to an entirely different sort of mat for Hiro.

* * *

The letters of my words curve gently and neatly over the soft surface of the scroll in my hands. I read it over for the fourth time, making sure that every line conveys as much information as possible. Of course, there's also a multitude of questions and worries in their about how Sasuke is doing, but I'm sure that he won't mind too much beyond a number of rolling eyes.

I've spent three whole days holed up in the library with Akito and Shikamaru, cataloguing all of the information that Sasuke might need in order to evade capture by Danzo's men, as well as the few solid facts that we've found out so far. I've also included a few of my suspicions, and places for Sasuke to check out if he feels like gathering some evidence or a few new leads for me.

I roll up the scroll with one hand and bit into the thumb of my other hand. It took me a couple of hours to find the right sealing ninjutsu and practice it enough to make it work, but the traces of my chakra on Sasuke should be enough to open the scroll again when it reaches his hands.

Laid out across my knees, however, is a rather interesting registry that I found while looking for the seal I needed. It starts with a complex diagram depicting another sort of seal, and then lists every single person to carry that seal on their person, courtesy of former clan heads. As well as all of the variations for the different bloodlines that married into the clan.

I run my fingers over the crest that this particular seal takes the shape of, a blooming magnolia and a rising dragon. They're the two things that define this place. Magnolias and dragons. And together, they symbolize fealty to the clan, and specifically to the clan head who places the mark upon them.

According to the lists, there are a number of shapes the seal can take, based on the formula used for each different bloodline. Typically, each is shaped like the family crest of whichever family the new member came from. It was meant to be something of a deadman's switch. If the one with a bloodline died, the seal would activate to seal their kekkai genkai within them, making it impossible to extract once the soul had left the body.

But from what I can tell about the rising dragon seal, that one is tailored specifically to those who pledge their fealty to the head of the clan as a sort of guardian to the dragons of the main family. It is therefore only a slight surprise to see the names of all my aunts and uncles on it. I had thought that their loyalty would be a given, but based on what I can determine about the nature of the seal from the diagrams, it seems to have more practical uses than just denoting fealty.

What DOES come as a surprise is the most recent name on that list. Someone who just seemed to have made the age requirement to be given the seal before my family was wiped out.

Shisui Uchiha.

Maybe when I was little, I just took it for granted that Shisui always seemed to be there when I wanted him. But now that I'm older, I can see easily how such a thing might be considered controversial, even suspicious by other clans. Even if his brother married in, and he used the excuse of coming to see his niece, that much contact with me, and bringing Itachi along as well…that certainly couldn't have sat well with some people outside the clan.

But now I can see why he was so close to me, why he kept coming around to see me in the hospital until the day he disappeared. It might not have been legally binding by the village's law, especially given his own young age, but taking my father's mark meant that Shisui became responsible for me after their deaths.

 _I wonder where his mark was._ Maybe it's because of the seal on me, but I can easily imagine putting such a seal on the body like it was a tattoo. But to do it by pledging fealty, and having a ninjutsu binding you to your lord…that's another level entirely. _He was so brave. His family probably wouldn't have liked that at all._ It wouldn't have surprised me if he'd been disowned for it. Likely only his reputation as the pride of the clan kept it from becoming a huge scandal. They probably hushed it up and kept it a secret.

After flipping through the lists a little longer, I look to the skies that seem so blue. But I can smell the storm on the horizon. I can't tell when it's going to hit, or how hard, but I can feel it coming in my bones.

From off to the east, an almost thunderous sound of beating wings approaches. I rise to my feet, looking to the sky. Someone else might be fooled into thinking it was the storm, but I know well the sound of beating wings. They sound like Suzaku's wings when he lends them to me and allows me to fly.

To be fair, I expected Sasuke to send me a hawk or something with his first message, maybe even a snake, owing to who his teacher was. But THAT is not a messenger hawk. That's as much a messenger hawk as Gamabunta is a cute pet toad. And I'm pretty sure that the Chief Toad would greatly protest any label that includes the word cute.

Huge brown wings buffet the air above me as the giant bird swoops in from above, its keen eyes seeking me out with purpose. _That's definitely a summon._ _But since when could Sasuke summon those?_

The giant bird stops about twenty feet above my head, flapping its great wings to keep itself hanging in place. It scrutinizes me for a moment, then slowly lets itself fall into a gentle landing. It lands just beside me and folds in its wings, shuffling slowly towards me and holding out one leg.

The sight makes me want to bang my head against a wall. Just a little. Because on its leg is a small scroll pouch that contains, at my best guess, the letter from Sasuke that I've been expecting. But to put such a tiny pouch on such a large bird seems more than a little mixed up.

I sigh and approach the bird in my own time. "Sasuke sent you?" Ever the dramatic one, if he did. The whole last few years have been like something out of a play.

The bird nods and hops twice, holding out its leg for me. So I bend down and use a small burst of chakra to open the pouch and extract the letter. Though if I'd known that the bird carrying the letter was going to be this big, I would have prepared a larger treat for it.

I turn the scroll over in my hands and examine it. It's maybe not as thick as I would have liked it to be, but at least Sasuke kept the promise and sent me a letter. Though…I suppose that he didn't technically agree to the promise. But I'm pretty sure that kiss was a tacit acceptance of the terms. I think.

The seal breaks in my hands and the scroll opens for me. But I can read it later. My concern is getting what I know to Sasuke. "Thank you for delivering this to me." I extract what I had saved from breakfast as a treat for the bird, and I really hope that this one like sausage, otherwise I'm a little worried about what I might have to find to reward it with.

Luckily for me, he, I think it's a he, gobbles up the sausages and makes a happy-sounding sort of…chirp? I mean, it sounds like he's chirping through a thunderstorm, but that's likely just because of his size. I take the opportunity to place my own sealed scroll into the pouch and fasten it back up to guard against the wind pulling it open and ripping out the scroll.

As I finish up, the huge hawk nudges me gently with his head and stares at me with an almost affectionate look in his eye. Maybe he smells the demon bird in me and thinks I'm related to him or something. _Huh, I wonder if summons can smell stuff like that? They can tell humans apart, but do the special ones smell all that different?_ Maybe I should ask Kiba one of these days if I smell more like a bird or a dragon than a human.

The giant hawk hops away from me and flaps its wings as it takes off. The flowers of the magnolia trees rustle in the wind and some of them break from their branches and fly in circles around me in the buffets of air. It's beautiful, even if it means that my hair is going to be a right mess by the time he's gone.

With one last look at me, he takes off into the sky, carrying my letter to Sasuke off into the great blue sky. _Maybe I should go for a flight one of these days and get my head clear._ Ancestors know that I need it after everything that's happened lately.

Still, I smile just a little as I roll the scroll in my hands open a little. I set my course for the house and let my gaze traverse the surface of the scroll, reading the greeting and almost mission-like update on where Sasuke is and what he and his team are doing out there. _So, they've gone back to the shrine and are staying there for a few days to get my response before deciding whether to move on or not. Smart, and no less than I would have expected from Sasuke._ I've given him a safe haven away from the village that no one without a touch of my chakra can get into. He would be an idiot not to make use of that. And he may be rather foolish sometimes, but I can't truthfully say that Sasuke is an idiot.

I'm sure that he can act like he is at times, though.

* * *

Tsunade's P.O.V.

I've given them almost a week now to get settled back in. And according to a report from Shikaku, Ciara is in contact with the Uchiha, and she's already getting herself involved in the investigation into Danzo. According to Nara, she had apparently been planning to assemble most of the established team to run her own independent investigation into Danzo. While I can applaud her initiative, I fear that it may get her into trouble, and catch the attention of the wrong people.

I wish that was the real reason I was here to see her. I've held my peace for days now, waiting for her and Naruto to get settled back in after the near heart-attack she gave us when she was captured. And I wish that I didn't come bearing this news, or that I received it in the first place.

 _Damn it Jiraiya! Why…?_

"Lady Tsunade." It seems that the little dragon has gone and snuck up on me while I was busy admiring the intricate woodwork of the wall and balcony, and trying to figure out how exactly to break the news to her and Naruto.

The moment I see her, for the first time since before she was captured, I frown. She looks a touch thinner than she used to, and there's a pallor to her skin that her recent exposure to sunshine hasn't quite brushed away. And there's a sadness in her eyes, belied by the light tone of her voice. She's keeping it together, but just barely.

This is a terrible idea. "I'm here to talk with you and Naruto. Is he here?"

Her eyes light up a little, some of the sadness vanishing at the mention of Naruto's name. "Yeah, I left him in the Hall of Wisdom. He doesn't like to sit still and read everything that's on the wall, but I find that it's a good place for meditation. And there's plenty of helpful advice written on every wall."

"Written on the walls, you say?" It sounds intriguing. I've heard a few things from Shikaku about that room, but I must admit that I've been wanting to see it for myself. It will have to wait for later, however.

"Yes, there's lots of wisdom passed down from my ancestors on those walls." Her expression softens into a wistful smile and she beckons me into the next room. "About love and strength and power…what those things mean, and how to gain and keep them, and what to use them for. It's…the family code, I guess you could say. Though the actual code of conduct is written down in one of the scrolls I haven't read yet. I know that it's somewhere in the library, though." She slips through the door, and I follow after her.

It doesn't come as a surprise to find Naruto standing in the middle of the room, practicing his Rasengan again. I swear that boy thinks of nothing but his ninjutsu, chasing down the Uchiha, and the friends he works and lives with.

"Hey Naruto, Granny Tsunade is here to talk to us." I really wish that she wouldn't call me that. It's bad enough that Naruto insists on making me feel old. Then he got her calling me that, and they're impossibly stubborn about it. I blame Jiraiya for that.

"Granny Tsunade's here?" Those two blue eyes look up at me, and suddenly the pit in my stomach grows. He looks so happy to see me. "Hey! Grandma Tsunade!" He waves his hands at me, the attempted one-handed Rasengan disappearing, not yet quite fully formed. "What's up?"

"Naruto…" Normally, I'd give him a hard time about how he's not putting enough effort into his training if he still can't manage the Rasengan one-handed. But today, I just can't find it in me. "How about we go somewhere more comfortable to talk. Lord Fukasaku is here to speak with you as well."

"Lord who?" Naruto tilts his head like a confused puppy.

Ciara rolls her eyes. "One of the two old toads that taught me genjutsu, Naruto. You know, the ones who make that really scary-looking food?"

"Oh…yeah…" Naruto pales, and I would pay good money to know just what sort of food could give him that look on his face. "Alright, we'll meet with ya and the old geezer toad."

"Naruto! Have some respect!" Honestly, that boy has no idea how to respect his elders! Granted, most of his elders treated him poorly and don't deserve his respect, but there are certainly some that do.

"Yeah, yeah, respect the old toads, got it." Naruto waves his hand and walks past us and towards a large archway. "Come on, living room's this way, there's tons of nice places to sit there."

Now, I'm really starting to regret not doing this in my office. If it weren't for the security risk with Danzo's spies creeping around, I would have.

* * *

Just to be sure, I have Sakura and Kakashi attend this small meeting. If Naruto and Ciara react as badly as I think they're going to, I'll need those two for doing damage control. And hope that the village is still standing by the end of this.

"As I was saying, this is Lord Fukasaku, one of the Two Great Sages of Mount Myoboku." I gesture to the old toad sitting atop a carrier toad on my right. He reverse summoned in when I sorted out the meeting. Fortunately, it looks like at least one of them recognizes him. It doesn't surprise me that Ciara was the one to learn genjutsu from him. I got the report about that almost lethal voice of hers.

"Hello Naruto, Ciara. It has been some time since we last met." The elderly toad turns his focus entirely onto them, keeping a faint smile for them, for now.

Ciara smiles in return. "Yes, it has. I've been practicing the genjutsu that you taught me, and I've added a few songs to my repertoire."

"Very good." The old toad nods approvingly, and it's clear to see that Jiraiya, as lazy as he could be, didn't neglect their education. He just brought in a lot of outside help. I suppose, given the complex and contrasting natures of his students, that shouldn't be a surprise.

"Hey, hey!" Naruto laughs and leans back against his armchair. "What's the old geezer toad here for anyway? Did the Pervy Sage send you?"

And with that, Fukasaku's face falls. "I'm…not sure where to begin. But let's see…" He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes in reverence. "The most important thing would be…"

"Jiraiya-boy has died in battle."

For a moment, there's a silence so still that if I couldn't see the both of them sitting right in front of me, I would almost think that they weren't even here. I've known these kids for a while now, and this sort of utter silence doesn't belong to them. It's unnatural. Wrong

"H-huh?" Naruto stutters as he finally catches up with those words. "W-what are you talking about?"

"I know this is sudden, and I don't blame you if you don't believe me." Lord Fukasaku sighs as silence falls again. "There were rumors for some time that the leader of the Akatsuki was in the Hidden Rain Village. Jiraiya-boy went in person to verify the truth of these rumors. One of his students had been abducted by the Akatsuki, and he believed that if he went there, he might find a trail to follow to conduct a rescue in time and bring back important information."

Ciara is silent, but the implication in those words is apparent in the stiffening of her shoulders, and the horror in her eyes. Then the horror is followed by a wave of guilt that has me worried for what she might do when this conversation is over.

Lord Fukasaku continues through the silence. "He came upon the leader of the Akatsuki, Pain. Pain was a former student of Jiraiya's, one who possessed the Rinnegan, an ocular jutsu with power surpassing the imagination. He was too powerful, and despite our greatest efforts we could not defeat him."

"…Did you let him go, Granny?" Naruto's words come out of nowhere, and the look in his eyes is terribly cold. Cold and hurt.

I can't deny that I didn't try as hard as I should have to prevent him from going. After all, since when has Jiraiya ever listened to me, anyway? "Yes, I did."

"Why did you let him do something so dangerous?" The hitch at the end of his question tells me in an instant that Naruto is going to scream. And I deserve it. "You knew Pervy Sage better than anybody! How could you send him to a place like that all alone!?"

"Naruto." Kakashi places a calming hand on Naruto's shoulder. "You, of all people, should know Lady Hokage's feelings. It can't have been an easy choice."

"If Pervy Sage had been the Hokage, he never would'a let Granny take that kind of risk!" As true as that might be, I can't change anything now. Even though I wish I could.

Silent thus far, Ciara finally rises to her feet, shock and realization scattered across her face. "…He died for me. When Sasuke got me out, Gamakichi came to find me while I was unconscious. Jiraiya was fighting Pain, but I thought he could…" And in that instant, I watch as the broken pieces, barely held together at all, fall apart and come crumbling down inside of her. She stumbles to her feet, walking almost blindly for the way out.

"Hey, Ciara…" Sakura trails after her, trying to reach out. But every time she does, Ciara just stumbles further out of reach, and further towards the back door. "Where are you going?"

Naruto stalks off in the opposite direction, disappearing from the room. Him, I have confidence that he will heal. But Ciara might very well become a medical emergency if we allow this wound to fester.

I take a deep breath and rise to my feet. There will be time for more mourning later. Now, I have another job to do. "Kakashi, watch over Naruto. I'll deal with her."

"Yes, Lady Hokage." With a bow, Kakashi disappears from sight.

That leaves me to follow the two girls out of here. A trail of wet drops on the floor and the faint sounds of Sakura's voice heading outside help guide me towards the exit. Hopefully, I'm not too late.

Lord Fukasaku joins me in the chase, hopping up onto my shoulder without warning. "Lady Hokage, we may all be in danger if the girl's power grows out of control. We must be quick and cautious."

"I know that!" We're in danger. She's in danger. I knew that nothing good would come from this conversation, but it's not like I could keep Jiraiya's death a secret from them forever. They deserved to know. They-

When I expect sunlight, all I see are dark thunderclouds overhead. There was a storm coming when I arrived, but it couldn't have blown over the village that quickly.

"Ciara!" A blast of light from out in the grass behind the mansion flings my apprentice back towards me. I catch her easily and jump back into the house with her as a bone-chilling, unearthly, wailing roar erupts from the center of the growing column of light. It reaches up towards the stormy heavens, bringing wind and lightning down from the skies.

"RAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"

The sound echoes off the mountaintop like the voice of a gigantic beast. My blood runs colder than the icy droplets falling from the sky. In all of my years, I have never seen anything like this before.

"L-Lady Tsunade." Sakura's fingers clutch at my arm, her jade eyes wide with fear. "What is that. Is the demon getting loose!? Do we need to evacuate!?"

I don't know. And that might be what worries me more than anything else. This is a situation that I have no idea how to handle.

"Lady Hokage." Shikaku joins us in the hall, peering outside cautiously. "…You told her, then." It's not a question, and therefore, needs no answer. "…I commend her control. She managed to restrain herself until she was outside."

"W-what do you mean restrain herself?" Sakura breathes hard, her eyes flickering between fear and worry. "What's happening to her? What's that sound? It's like some kind of monster."

Shikaku's dark eyes flicker grimly. "I've heard it once before, during the Third Great Ninja War. It was on the day her grandfather died, and it was her father who made that sound and frightened away an entire army."

I grit my teeth and try to stare into the pillar of light, but to no avail. "What is the sound, Shikaku?"

"…It's the sound of a dragon's shattered heart."


	50. Dragon Tears

**Ask, and it shall be given. Well, within reason, anyway. I've got plans for this story, but if you want more Sasuke, I can give you more Sasuke. And more Naruto. Let's start with our blond fox and get to our wayward raven in a bit, shall we?**

 **Also, the inspiration has been striking recently, so, you get another chapter already. what fun, right?**

* * *

Naruto's P.O.V.

I hate this. It feels like I'm abandoning one of my best friends right when she needs me the most. "Sakura, I can't…"

"Yes, you can." Her hand on my wrist pulls me away from the bedroom door that I've been peeking through for days now, hoping to see some sign of life from arguably my oldest friend. "Lady Tsunade told me how important this training will be for you. She said that Lord Fukasaku is planning on training you himself, just…just like he did Lord Jiraiya."

The sound of the old perv's name stings. I don't think I'll ever get used to the idea of him just being…gone. It's been almost two weeks now, and I just…I don't really know what to do. Since meeting him, it's just mostly been training on top of more training, trying to stop him from perving on the girls at hot spring and bath houses, and him looking after the two of us. He taught us so much that it's hard to believe anyone could just…beat him like that.

And now the old geezer toad wants me to go to that toad mountain with him to train? Ciara's still a wreck. She only eats or does…anything when the old bird takes over her body and takes care of making her eat and drink and sleep. I wanted to stay and take care of her, like I've always done. I've been there for almost every nightmare since we first met. I don't wanna imagine what it's gonna be like for her while I'm gone.

"Naruto." Sakura slaps my cheek, but it's not like it actually hurts or anything. Even those vicious punches of hers barely even leave a bruise. Not that I'm gonna tell her that. It might just make her try harder to knock some sense into me. But this time, she doesn't smack me any harder than that. "Go on. The Akatsuki are going to come eventually for the both of you, and you need to train somewhere safe. They got her last time, so it's not like they couldn't show up and try to take her again. And next time, they could get BOTH of you."

"…I know." And it's not that I don't wanna get stronger. I do. I wanna get strong enough to beat the Akatsuki, keep them away from my friends, stop them from taking one of my most precious people away again, and bring Sasuke back to a village that's SAFE for him to live in. I know that Shikamaru and Neji are cooking up a plan with Ciara's teammates and a couple of the parents, but I don't know how I can help them at all.

"Naruto." Sakura's free hand lands on my other cheek. "Don't worry so much. You know that she's got a demon making sure that she eats properly, and she's got us looking after her too. Sai and I will take care of her while you're gone. And Hinata's going to drop by with one of her clan's medicine recipes that we're hoping might work on her."

That's something, I guess. "Do you really think it'll work? She always tells me that regular medicine doesn't work on her because Suzaku just burns it out of her system, like it's some kind of poison." Ciara says that the fox does something similar for me, just not as much as the old bird does for her.

Sakura's face falls, and I really don't like seeing that expression on her face. "Honestly, I don't know. But we've got to try something to get her back on her feet. She's just…fading away like this." She bites her lip. "…Some of this is because of what happened with Sasuke's brother, isn't it?"

"Yeah." I know her well enough to know that, no matter what happened between Itachi and Sasuke, Ciara loved him a lot. Then Utakata died, and she was captured, and she found the bodies of all the other jinchuuriki. Now they're all buried, and Granny just had to deliver that bad news on top of everything else.

I've seen her down and depressed before, but it was never this bad. It never felt like someone sucked the life out of her.

Sakura glances up to Ciara's closed door with that worried doctor expression she gets sometimes. "…Do you think she's going to be okay?"

Honestly, I don't know. But this is Ciara. She just needs to deal with the grief, and then she'll bounce back and thrash Kiba and Lee's asses out in the backyard when they come around for a spar, just like old times. I remember watching a few of those spars when we were kids. It makes me smile. "Yeah, she'll be okay. She just needs time to get back on her feet, ya know?"

"Yeah, you're right." Sakura smiles a little. It's way better to see a smile on her face than that worried expression she gets whenever someone gets themselves hurt. "You know, another letter from Sasuke arrived this morning."

"Really?" After like, three years of not hearing from the guy, and only running into him like…twice, it's weird to actually be getting letters from him. Well, I'm not the one getting the letters, but it's great that Ciara's gone and made him promise to stay in touch. I gotta ask her what her secret is one of these days. Maybe when I come back from my training after she's recovered. "That's awesome."

"It is, isn't it?" Sakura smiles gently, but it's not like some of the other smiles I've seen her wear when we talk about Sasuke. It seems kinda…calmer, somehow? "It looks like she's going to be the one to bring Sasuke home, doesn't it?"

Maybe she's right. I can definitely hope she is. But the thought of Ciara bringing Sasuke home puts a grin on my face for a whole other reason. "No way! I'm gonna be the one to bring Sasuke home! Believe it!"

Sakura laughs at me, but I don't mind it, I like it when she laughs. "Yeah, alright. You two go on and bring Sasuke home. But first, you need to go and train." She looks out the open door at the pouring rain. Seriously, it's raining oceans out here. "…And when you get back, the rain will have stopped."

"Yeah…" It's been raining ever since we got the news, the drop just hammering away at the roof ever since Ciara started crying. "…She's really hurting, Sakura."

"I know." She puts a hand on my arm and squeezes a bit. "I was down in the market the other day and I heard some of the old ladies gossiping inside one of the shops. They said that it hasn't rained like this for over ten years now. And they've only seen a few storms like this one since the founding of the village." A clap of thunder makes her go quiet for a bit. "They said that before the village was built, the people who lived here called it this kind of rain…the Dragon's Tears."

"The Dragon's Tears, huh?" I gotta admit that it fits. I've never seen a storm this bad since I was a kid. I got caught in it and barely made it home before the worst of it hit. I think I was five or six.

"Yeah." Sakura closes her eyes and sighs, then looks up at me with a smile. "Alright Naruto, get going. I'll look after her for you, so you just get on with your training." Her eyes narrow teasingly. "And make sure to behave yourself for Lord Fukasaku. He's taking you all the way to their secret mountain to train, so make sure to be grateful for the opportunity to learn from him."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it." I wave her off with a big grin. Sakura always worries way too much. "I'll be fine, okay? You just stay here and hold down the fort. I'll be back before you know it, and I'll be way more powerful than I am now. Believe it!"

"Alright, now just go!" Sakura shoves me out the front door and towards the front lawn, where the older geezer toad sage is waiting for me. "And make sure that you eat properly!"

"I will!" I spin around and pull up my hood as I wave back at her. I gotta admit that I'm really excited to get out of here. I've never seen where the toads live, and I just know that the training is going to be tough and make me super powerful.

I pump my fist into the air and grin. _Just you wait, Sasuke. The next time we meet, I'm gonna be way stronger than you!_

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

"What did you find out, Suigetsu?" I glance towards the door as he walks in from his latest surveillance mission.

He shoots me an irritated glare, then slams himself down on the floor in a huff. "The old man's definitely a pervert, I'll tell ya that. He seems too busy groping girls less than half his age to be plotting how to kill people."

"Are you sure?" I don't want there to be any mistakes made here. If Ciara's pointed us in this direction, even further from where she is than the first shrine, then there has to be a reason.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure." Suigetsu digs around in his bag, looking for his share of the stash of food we bought in the last village we passed. "He may be the lord of this region, but there's no way a guy like that is actually in charge. The only stings he's pulling are the ones on those girls' kimonos."

 _…A puppet, then? There could be someone pulling the strings from behind the scenes, like Danzo did during the reign of the Third Hokage._ It makes sense that someone like that would keep to the shadows and not reveal their hand so easily. Which means that it'll take more to root out one of Danzo's accomplices than just sending in Suigetsu to watch the estate. "Karin, you and Suigetsu take the radios and try to track down whoever is hiding in that mansion and pulling the strings. Once you find them, we'll-"

A sharp cry cuts me off, and I look out the door of this shrine to see Garuda landing out front. _She's replied._ I suppose that I shouldn't be surprised. Her last response came quickly as well. "…You three can go ahead and eat. I'll be back in a few minutes." I want to read this letter privately, without Suigetsu looking over my shoulder again.

"Fine, fine, be that way." Suigetsu scoffs and bites into a meat bun. "Go and find out what your girlfriend wants this time."

I shoot a glare over my shoulder, because she is NOT my girlfriend. "Shut up, Suigetsu." He's been like this since the day I left her in the Land of Rivers. I'm starting to regret not trading Suigetsu for her and keeping her on my team instead.

The door slides shut behind me and I step down from the wooden deck surrounding the shrine. Garuda watches me quietly and sticks out his leg where the scroll pouch is attached. My lips curve slightly. I remember making a contract with him, and I haven't regretted it once since. Making a contract with the snakes was something I did only because Orochimaru expected it, but Aoda is a good summon, as is Garuda. I have no interest in the others.

My fingers go to the scroll pouch and flick it open to pull out the letter within. It's not as thick as the last one, but the last one contained quite a lot of information in it, And more than a few inquiries about how we're all doing in our travels.

But the moment I unroll the letter, I frown. That's not Ciara's handwriting, and she definitely wouldn't start a letter using my surname.

 _ **Uchiha,**_

 _ **Before you burn this letter for not being from your girlfriend, hear me out. And yes, Ino told me when they got back that Ciara looked like she'd been kissed recently. Considering how glowingly she talked about you, I put two and two together. Whatever you want with her is your business. Investigating Danzo Shimura to protect her is mine. And since she's been working her ass off to help you, I'll sit and write a long enough letter so she won't kick my ass when she's better.**_

 _ **We've been looking into his past international dealings, and I've included a document that elaborates on some of the information she sent you in the last letter. But since you're probably not interested in the stuff he did outside the village, I've also included some notes about Dad and Inoichi's theories regarding the clan massacres in the village.**_

 _ **You can read the documents whenever you want, but to condense it, it looks like it was because of political unrest and friction between the factions in the village leadership. It's the line of Hokages that subscribe to the First Hokage's moderate policies, and an opposing group that takes the more militant policies of the Second Hokage to an extreme.**_

 _ **If I were Danzo and looking to upset the balance of power enough to impose extremist views on the village leadership to oppose the moderate views of the Hokage, my first move would be to eliminate the biggest threats to that power. Namely, the Uchiha Clan as the biggest rival to that goal when there was a chance that an Uchiha might be named Hokage, and the Shiryugu, who protected the peace of the village, the balance of power, and the clans from being targeted, exploited, and persecuted for their kekkai genkai, or having their secrets stolen.**_

 _ **He would see that clan as the one that the others would rally behind in the event of a coup against him if he seized power. My guess is that he's been planning to seize power for years. He's been getting confrontational with the Hokage, so we might be reaching critical mass. We're still looking for evidence, but I think I've seen enough to be convinced that there's more going on here behind the scenes. We've almost lost two clans, and I'm not going to sit and wait around for the rest to suffer the same fate. You might not care about that, and I don't blame you. But Ciara does, or at least she will when she finally wakes up.**_

 _ **A few days after your last letter, the Hokage came to the estate to tell her and Naruto that their teacher, Lord Jiraiya died. I talked to Naruto and he's mostly fine. Ciara's a wreck. I don't know what happened with your brother, and with what we're investigating, I'll reserve judgment until we've got all the facts. But the reason why I'm writing instead of her is because she's indisposed. Her moods have bounced up and down a lot for a while now, but these last two weeks, she's been almost catatonic.**_

 _ **I know that you've been doing research into her family history while you run around to those old shrines. If you find something that can break her depression, send it here. We're looking as well. You might not like me very much, and I don't like you very much, but I'm asking this for her sake. And if nothing else, you seem to care what she thinks.**_

 _ **Shikamaru Nara**_

I want to glare at him through the letter, and I'm definitely glaring at the letter, but it's the last paragraph that really gets me. _She's depressed?_ The image that word brings to mind is the one of her injured and sitting on the floor of that damp, dirty cell, her clothes dirty and torn, her hair a mess, her wings broken and draped across the floor, and a complete lack of light and life in her eyes. It's an image that haunts me, and one that I never want to see again.

But she is still NOT my girlfriend.

My fists clench as I reread the letter. I may not like him, but Nara's not completely stupid. His analysis makes sense. But if they take much longer, I don't care that she asked for time to deal with this. Danzo will die, I'll make sure of that. And she won't stop me. Hell, right now, it looks like she couldn't, even if she wanted to.

 _What's happened to you?_ The haunting image of her sitting chained in that cell comes to mind. Those dull, lifeless eyes…

I never want to see that look in her eyes again.

The scroll crumples slightly in my fist, the words on the paper no longer really registering to me. I WILL kill Danzo. He will suffer for what he did to my clan, to my family, to Itachi. But…it looks like that will have to wait until I solve another problem first.

They don't know what they're dealing with. As if any of those fools would know what I've seen. I saw her that day, I saw the dragon inside of her. And I've got a pretty good idea what sorts of things she sees in her nightmares. So there's only one question, really.

 _What makes a dragon rise from the flames?_

I close my eyes thinking back over every day, every second that I spent watching her. She was always very close, very willing to talk, to open her heart to my team even though she'd never met them before I rescued her.

My lips curve a little more. _She's naive and foolish. She's said it herself, the reason she lives is to protect others. To protect the people she holds in her heart._ It's silly, especially in a world where you can be forced to betray your family and stab them in the back over old grudges and hatred and petty power politics. This is a world she doesn't belong in, where the innocent are forced to do evil's dirty work. She's too good for this world.

But she's not human, and it's time that I stop expecting her to act like one. She's always been wired that way. She's wired in ways that still don't make very much sense. But if that's what's going to get her out of bed… _Family. She has none. And Itachi was the closest she had, so…_

An idea starts blossoming, and a memory of her comes to mind. Water dripping down tanned skin, with only a few, tiny old scars marring it. Her long, dark hair draped over her shoulder. The curve of her hips, her waist, her…

My eyes blink open, pulsing just a little with my active Sharingan. I can vividly remember every millimeter of her from that day. My fingers twitch, but I can clearly picture what I need to. After all, her clothes did get ruined by her stay in the dungeons.

Finally, I give in to the urge and smirk. _It's not as though she'll protest. She did kiss me back. Maybe it's time that I remind them just who rescued her when two whole villages couldn't manage it. And I WILL take her away again if they can't protect her._

I'll find a seamstress in the next village.

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

 _Chick…your friends do not wish to see you waste away like this._

I can't…

 _Chick, you must find the strength to pick yourself up and continue on. The village needs you. The entire Land of Fire needs you to survive._

It hurts…

 _Chick, if you pass on, what remains of the fragile balance that your ancestors once kept will shatter. Their legacy will be destroyed, and the people will suffer for it. Already, they suffer your sadness with you. The tears of dragons fall from the heavens in an endless rain._

Don't make me…

 _Chick, your friend needs you. When the time comes for the Akatsuki to strike again, Naruto will need you to be his partner in battle. They are strong, and he cannot win this fight without you._

I can't fight…I can't protect anyone…

 _Chick, please, you must live, you must…_

"Ciara?" I barely register the door to my room opening and Sakura stepping inside. "Another letter came from Sasuke. And he sent you something."

The name stirs me slightly. It's been a while since I last heard it, but I know it so well. "…Sasuke?"

She gasps softly and shuffles closer, sitting right next to me on my bed. "That's right. His hawk came just a little while ago with a couple of letters and a package. He's in one of the smaller nations bordering the Land of Wind."

"He is…?" I blink slowly, registering that fact in my mind. "…Where's Naruto?"

"He left to go train with the toads." Gentle fingers stroke my hair. "He wanted to stay and look after you, but Lady Tsunade and I thought that it was better to send him off to train. I promised him that I'd look after you while he was gone."

"Oh." I'm not really surprised, just numb, mostly. "How long has he been gone?"

"A couple of days." She places the package and letters right in front of my eyes. "Are you feeling up to eating anything?"

"Not really." I know she's worried, I know that I should be more worried about myself but I just…can't. I can't feel it. I just…

I finally open my eyes and look at the small, flat package in front of me. "That's from Sasuke, you said?" It's been a while since I last heard from him. "How is he?"

"Sasuke's fine, apparently. Frustrated and moody, but that's normal for him."

For the first time in what feels like forever, my lips turn up into a faint smile. "Yeah, he is moody, isn't he?"

Her fingers stop in my hair, then start their gentle stroking again. "Yeah, he sure is. Now go on and open it. I want to see what's inside."

It sounds like she's more excited about this present than I am. But at her request, I sit up slowly and pull the package into my lap. It's light, soft, flexible. "…Huh." I wonder what it is.

Slowly, I peel back the packaging and reveal a dark, silky fabric inside. My brow furrows slightly and my eyesight sharpens in the dim light of my bedroom. "What is it?"

Sakura frowns slightly. "A shirt, maybe?"

"Maybe…" I remove the rest of the packaging and let the soft fabric slide over my fingers as I roll it out on my lap. And in an instant, my eyes widen. "It's…like what I wear on missions." A dark, skintight and sleeveless shirt. Except that this one doesn't tie behind the neck. The back is solid instead of left open like my shirts are. And underneath the first is a second, just black instead of dark blue, like the one in my hands.

A tiny piece of paper slides out from between the folds, so I pick it up to see familiar curving lines on it, done in Sasuke's handwriting.

 ** _For training._**

I hold the shirt up and examine it. It looks…just like the sort of thing that I would wear for training. It's practical, comfortable-looking, and simple, but elegant in its simplicity. "He sent me clothes?" And by the stretch of the fabric, they look like they were tailor-made for me. But how did he get my measurements? The fact that he DID somehow get my measurements, or at least guessed them, makes my face burn a little.

"Uh…Ciara?" Sakura taps my shoulder and points to the back of the shirt. "Why is that crest on the back of the shirt?"

"Crest?" I frown and turn the shirt around, only to be confronted with the sight of a red and white fan about the size of my palm embroidered into the back of the shirt, staring at me from right between where my shoulder blades would be. I blink once, then feel the heat slowly rising in my face as it dawns on me just why he would do something like that. It also makes his parting gesture click into place, because I am NOT as dense as Naruto.

"…Oh that possessive asshole…"


	51. A Light to the Heavens

**Wow, time really flies when the new semester starts, huh?**

 **To the guest(s?) who missed the kiss, it was in Chapter 46 when Sasuke and his team left. The other instance was back in chapter 42 when Tobi showed up. And there was a close call halfway between those. They're not super explicit, so that's probably why you missed them. And to the other guest who got worried about me, don't worry so much, I'm still alive. Just a student still going for her anthropology and history degree.**

 **So, it's September, and the move back to school has been kind of chaotic at times (like figuring out what bus routes I'm supposed to take to campus and ending up lost at the other end of the city -.-). But I'm writing again, and anyone who might have seen me on AO3, they'll know that I've been working on collabs in my spare time. And homework, that too. And labs. And some very long readings for anthropology (history has less long ones, but it makes up for them in number).**

 **Though it's still nice to see so many lurkers coming out of the woodwork. I like waking up from naps to ward off headaches to find that I've got a new rabid fangirl (or fanboy) popping up. You each know who you are. *Stares expectantly* And some of you will be glad to know that your points have been heard and agreed with. Particularly regarding the treatment of a particular asshole character that I will (eventually) take great pleasure in doling out some hard justice to. Right now, I'm mostly just deciding on exactly how much blood there's going to be.**

 **As a treat, here's something of a non-explicit confirmation spoiler regarding the fate of one character in particular. I remember when Kishi killed off one of my favorite characters. It was stupid, pointless, and I cried when that character died. I love my boys, and when one of them hurts, it makes me want to strangle Kishimoto. I wonder who can guess just whose death pissed me off even more than Itachi's (I cried, but understand), Shisui's (again, I cried, and I raged a bit) and Jiraiya's (which was just…ugh…).**

 **Now…who can figure out precisely whom I will NOT be killing?**

 **Cheers!**

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

I turn around and pull my braid over my shoulder, clearing my back so I can look at it in the mirror. I'm not looking at scars, those have mostly healed and disappeared by now. No, there's something far more interesting emblazoned on the back of my new training clothes. A familiar crest that doesn't really belong to me, but was sent to me nonetheless.

Maybe I should just pretend that I have no clue as to why he might have done this. There are three theories, equally unlikely, and yet, equally possible as well. Whether he's marking his territory or my allegiance…I suppose I'll find that out the next time I see him face to face. Because there's no way he'd ever say that straight in a letter. Actually, he probably wouldn't say it even if I asked him right to his face.

And then, of course, he could just be sending a signal to any interested parties. If they touch me, they'll know whose wrath they'll have to face. Or something like that. He's pretty focused on wrath for the time being. Though whichever explanation it is, it's a statement, and a loud one for anyone who cares to hear it. To me? To enemies? To peers? Who knows.

 _Sasuke…you're so weird._

I sigh and take a step away from the mirror and towards my window. I slide it open and let in the rays of the mid-morning sunlight. The light feels so clean here, pure. The last time it felt like this was at the shrine with Sasuke and his friends. It's like the oppressive fog that's been hanging over me is being pushed away for a little while.

But as I stand next to my window, a gust passes me by, warm and gentle, and accompanied by the flapping of wings and a dark shape moving through the air. I frown, but lean out the window and hold up my arm, expecting one of the village hawks to land there.

The black mass of feathers that lands on my arm is most definitely NOT a messenger hawk. Instead, staring at me with wise, intelligent eyes is a large crow, sitting docilely on my arm as though it unequivocally belongs there. It's so familiar that it makes my heart ache. The unnatural reddish eyes that it sports remind me of one…no, four people. Four people who have all had important roles in shaping my life. Four people with beautiful bright red eyes. Three of whom have left me for good.

I remain perfectly still, the two of us just staring at each other, unmoving. Then, the crow cocks its head to the side and hops once, twice, three times along my arm, spreading its wings and taking off without even leaving a scratch. I watch as it soars away from me and into the trees. But I don't see it take to the sky any further than that. _I wonder why…_

Dwelling on it now won't help. I know that. So instead, I simply stroke the simple necklace adorning me, chasing away the idle thoughts that I know he wouldn't want me to pursue right now. No, right now, there are things that need doing and people that need protecting. And sitting around wallowing, no matter how much right I may or may not have to do so, will not help me. I need to beat the negative thoughts out of my head and press forward, no matter how much it hurts. And I know that it's going to hurt.

So I take a deep breath and walk back across the room and throw open my bedroom door. "Time to get to work." Maybe I'll sound a little crazy, but I'd rather at least hear my own voice, rather than silence.

With a short jaunt down the stairs, I feel my stomach grumble loudly in protest as I make to bypass the kitchen. Not that I can blame my stomach, considering the smells coming out of there. It smells like someone is cooking pork dumplings. I sniff the air just to be sure. _Yeah, definitely pork dumplings._

I poke my head into the kitchen to see a very familiar head of bright pink hair standing at the stove, steaming one batch of dumplings and frying another. And something in my heart softens at the sight. "…Good morning, Sakura."

"Hm? Oh, good morning." For a moment, she just keeps tending to the dumplings. Then she pauses and turns around, eyes wide. "Ciara? You're up!"

I smile gently and step inside the kitchen. "Yes, I'm…sorry if I worried you." I know that I would rather not have people worry over me, but I know that if the situation were reversed, I would be more than a little worried for whichever of my friends was hurting inside. "Breakfast smells good."

She blinks, then a small smile curves up her lips. "Well…actually it's lunch. I was going to make you some soup to go with the dumplings and hope that you ate it."

"Really?" I glance around her at a large pot emitting a wonderful fragrance. "Smells good." And something inside of me can't help but feel like…prodding her a little to ease the worry still creasing her brow. "I guess you cook better when you're not making medicine, huh?"

Sakura glares at me sourly, a blush to match her hair all over her face. "Hey! I didn't know that they were going to turn out that bad…"

I laugh. For the first time in…I can't remember how long, but I laugh. "Don't worry, medicine is never supposed to taste good. Just try to make the medicine balls smaller next time so that they can just be swallowed instead of needing to chew them, and you'll be fine."

"Right…" The flush starts to fade from her face, and she moves the pan off the heat before stepping towards me. "Are you okay? You look…normal."

"Hm…" I hum softly and steps towards the stove, giving the simmering soup a stir. "I feel better." But it would be a lie to say that I feel okay. I'm still hurting inside, but it's not quite so intense as before. Not less, just…in a way that's easier to bury in the hidden places inside of my heart, and that's why I feel better than I did before.

"Alright…" I think that she knows that something is still off, but I'm glad that she doesn't press for answers today. "…You're wearing that shirt today?"

It occurs to me that I did slip on one of the training shirts when I got up, so of course anyone in the house is going to end up seeing it. I turn around, smiling as heat tints my cheeks. "I figured that I should. I mean, if he's going to bother sending me a present, I might as well use it, right? And it's not like I'm not allowed to, Grandmother's clothes had the crest stitched into them." I just thought that, if I wore any crest, I'd be wearing a dragon rising from a magnolia blossom on my back. Not that I actually could, it wouldn't fit on any of the shirts that I wear in a fight.

"So does this mean that you're alright to start training again?" Sakura's gaze flicks over me with an assessing quality that I know well.

I brush it off and dip a spoon into the soup, blow on it a few times, then give it a taste. It's delicious. "Yeah. I'll recover faster if I have something to do." Preferably something that keeps my body so busy that my mind doesn't have time to dwell on anything. "Besides, Naruto's gone off on his own training adventure, so I can't keep slacking on mine." Especially not now.

The feeling of separating from my body is one that I remember well. I remember shedding my mortal skin and existing in a pure form. I felt…capable of anything, like there was no limits to what I could have done. No limits except for the ones that I place on myself. I want to feel that again. I want to understand just what it is that the power in my blood is capable of. I want to learn it, master it, perfect it. And then, maybe the hurting will stop. Maybe I'll be strong enough to never lose the people in my heart ever again.

"Let's eat." I ladle some of the soup into the bowls set out on the counter, then reach for some of the dumplings steaming away and drop them into the soup. Then, I lift the bowls, easily ignoring the heat of them, it's not like I'm bothered by heat much anymore. I cast a smile back at Sakura as I place the dishes on the table. "You've probably got hospital duties, and I've got exercises to do."

"Alright, if you're sure." Sakura sits opposite me, and even as I spoon the soup into my mouth, I can feel her eyes on me, fretting the way she does. Actually, I'm surprised that she hasn't decked me yet, but I suppose that the tough love is reserved for Naruto. "Do you want me to see if Lady Tsunade can come by later to take a look at you?"

And now I know that she's seriously worried. She wouldn't drop Tsunade as an option if she wasn't. "If you think it's best, then that's fine." It's probably better to just let Sakura fuss and fret for a few days. Stopping her would just exacerbate the problem. So, I smile and try to diffuse her tension. "Just try not to bring her here when she's drunk, I don't really fancy an examination when she can't tell a radius from an ulna."

Sakura glares flatly at me, but then her gaze warms and she laughs at me. "Alright, I got it. Now eat up, you've got to rebuild your strength."

"Yeah, I know." I pop a couple of the dumplings into my mouth and hum appreciatively. It's always easier to rebuild your strength when you have company and good food.

* * *

The first step outside feels like a breath of fresh air, and not just for my lungs. There's a lightness that comes with stepping outside for the first time in weeks that not even opening my bedroom window could produce. The sun shines brightly overhead, which is strange, because I'm pretty sure that Sakura mentioned something after lunch about the weather being pretty gray and gloomy for a while. And apparently I missed the strongest storm the village has had in over a decade. And it didn't even make the house creak.

But, storm or sunny skies, I need to be outside for this. I don't know why, I just…do.

So I walk out behind the house and across the grass, glancing up at the sun as I pass. _It's very warm today._ I can even smell the magnolia blossoms blooming in the trees. It's beautiful. So beautiful that I wish Itachi could see it. But he'll be seeing a different magnolia tree where he's buried.

The breeze rustles the grass under my feet, carrying with it the scent of clear water from the lake. _I bet I'm not the first one to think that meditating out here is a good idea. I wonder if Dad trained back here when he grew into a dragon…_

I sit in the grass by the edge of the water, close enough that I can easily dip my fingers into the lake. It's cool and fresh and I love it. And it provides precisely the sort of calm atmosphere that I need to do this. At least, I hope it is. I was kind of delirious the last time I tried this, so I can't really be sure one way or the other.

My legs cross in front of me and I lay my hands in my lap. I take one deep breath, then a second, and a third. Even that old pervert, and by the ancestors do I miss him, mentioned that the key to good meditation was focusing on your breathing and finding a calm, quiet place. Or at least a place where the sounds of nature, like whistling wind and bubbling water, can drown out all of your own thoughts. And right now, drowning out all of my thoughts would be a wonderful reprieve from all of the things that I don't want to think about right now.

The count starts again and on the first breath, I let the sounds of water and wind fill my ears. The grass rustles in the breeze, the birds chirp in the trees. All is safe, all is calm.

With the second breath comes the scent of the grass, the sweet, petal-infused breeze wafting off the water, and of the tree leaves fluttering in the warm summer air.

And the third breath sinks me into the earth, pulling me deep into its embrace. All of my senses dull, closing off to the world as all within me thickens into a ball and sinks, peeling away from everything that forms my physical body. Everything that binds me to the realm of humans.

Then it all pulses, snaps, releases, and glows. I am free.

* * *

Shikamaru's P.O.V.

Climbing all of these stairs is a drag, but at least this is the one place in the village where it's safe to have a conversation without being overheard. After talking to Shino's dad and finding out about Shino's cousin being conscripted by Danzo, I'm not sure that even the clan grounds are safe from being infiltrated by Danzo's spies. We can't take any chances.

"Shikamaru." Beside me, Neji scans the area as we reach the top of the stairs. And somehow, I know that there's something different going on. The air feels weird, almost too clean. "I've been feeling this for a while now, but there's a powerful life force here that I've never felt before. It's familiar, and yet…more. It's as though this power is infusing the entire mountain, but it's strongest here at the top."

"Right…" What a drag, and here I'd thought that I would be able to spend a relaxing day plotting how to destroy rogue elements of the village that the previous Hokage should have put down years ago. "If anyone's messing around with this place, they're about to wish they hadn't."

I take off at a run with Neji close behind me, and I pick up the pace the moment a giant burst of white light shoots into the sky. "Neji! What is it!?"

"Chakra, I think?" I really don't like the way he says that. If it's chakra, then shouldn't a Hyuga be able to tell on the spot? "It's…stronger, more concentrated than anything I've seen before. Not like the demon inside of Naruto, but almost…" It's the first time that I've really seen Neji struggle to describe something. "Otherworldly."

Clearly it's otherworldly enough to run Sakura out of the house in a worried panic. She leaps towards us and lands hard in the grass in front of us, leaving marks where she touches down. "Shikamaru! Neji! What's going on!?"

"I was hoping that you could tell us that." She's been here all morning, so I'd thought she'd have seen something. "Did anything strange happen while you were making breakfast?"

"What?" She frowns worriedly. "No, not really. Ciara came down when I was in the middle of cooking and we ate together, but that's it. Then she went out back to train, and just a minute ago there was that light in the sky."

"Of course…I knew it was familiar." Neji turns his eyes towards the lake behind the house, observing the situation intensely.

"Wait, she's up?" Am I the only one surprised by this news? "I thought that Tsunade said that she was likely to stay in bed for a month, at least?"

"Yeah, that's what she said, but Ciara just got up this morning, came down to the kitchen, and she was smiling. Smiling." Sakura throws up her hands in frustration. "I give up! I can't understand jinchuuriki or dragons or…any of it! The files said she'd be out for at least a few months, but ever since that package from Sasuke arrived…"

"The package from the Uchiha?" I knew that those two had set up an expectation to send letters back and forth, but I hadn't gotten a look inside the package that arrived with the last one. "What was in it, do you know?"

Sakura stares at me like I've grown a second head. "What do you mean what was in it? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just humor me." It can't be a coincidence that the day after she gets that package, she's suddenly up and about and throwing off chakra like it's nobody''s business. Something had to be a trigger, and no matter how big or small it might be, everything is relevant. "What was in the package?"

She sighs and rubs the back of her head sheepishly. "Just…some clothes. A couple of shirts for training and sparring. It looks like Sasuke was trying to be…supportive? Or maybe just weird."

"Was there anything special about them?" It could just be that it's because they came from Sasuke. He's a pretty big trigger for more than one jinchuuriki, so every little action of his should probably be looked at for hidden meaning and intent.

"Well, yeah, I mean they both have his family crest on the back." Sakura's brows knit together in confusion. "Which is what I don't get. I mean, if he's going to get her something like that, then wouldn't he try going for her family crest? Or did he not see it when they were hiding out in that old shrine?"

"Wait, he gave her clothes with the Uchiha crest on the back?" And just like that, a few pieces of the puzzle start clicking into place. The report Lady Tsunade showed me about Ciara's great-uncle stipulated that the results were based on prolonged separation from family as the damage was done. But if a tie could have been reestablished in time, would that have been enough to get him walking around again? _I'll have to ask Dad, he knows more about this stuff than I do._

If it really is her back there, then that changes things. "Alright, we're going to go back there, but approach her slowly." I can plan for every contingency with a stealthy approach as long as I know all of the variables. But right now, she's changing all of those variables, and I don't know what she's changing them into. So a complicated plan is useless, and I haven't even been able to get eyes on the situation yet. "Neji, tell me what you see."

Neji's white eyes sharpen and he takes a few steps ahead, then a few more, until he breaks into a comfortable stride. "She's there. She's…sitting down. I think she's meditating." He casts his eyes up as the pillar of light in the sky begins to dissipate. "The initial outburst appears to be finished, but there is still a great deal of energy lingering around her. Approach cautiously."

"Of course." I hesitate for a second before stepping around the back of the house. House, what a strange way to describe it. This place isn't even a mansion. It's built like a hotel, or a palace with a library and a temple inside it. A temple to… "Holy shit."

"Shikamaru, what…" Sakura steps around me, stopping dead at the sight of a huge, clear white dragon curled up upon the water's surface and looking around with carefully observant eyes. If I had to guess, that thing is almost the size of the house.

Ciara said that she was a dragon. But until now, I never knew just how literal she was being. She's there, sitting right in front of it next to the water. And she's not screaming at all. Not a tremor, not a twitch.

"Shikamaru." Neji's Byakugan recedes, relaxing as he gazes up at the dragon. "That creature's energy. It's the energy we've been sensing this whole time. It's what sent up that beam of light."

"Yeah, no doubt." The question is what we do with it now. "Sakura, go check on Ciara and make sure that she's okay. Neji, I want eyes on the dragon at all times. Don't threaten it, but don't make it think that you're afraid."

"Right." Neji strides cautiously around to the side and Sakura bolts for Ciara. But my attention focuses on the dragon now staring intently at me, with emerald eyes that could pierce a man's soul. I have never dealt with a dragon before, so I'm just going to have to make this up as I go along. It works for Naruto, doesn't it?

With every step that closes the distance between us, I start to relax a little. Usually, killing intent is easy to read, but there's nothing like that in this dragon's gaze. It seems almost…curious? Maybe amused?

Its tail shifts across the waves behind it, and the strangest thing is that it looks like it's almost completely unaffected by gravity or the surface of the water beneath it. There's nothing there to hold it up, but it doesn't sink. It's like its weightless and transparent like a ghost. I don't believe in ghosts, but I never could have imagined anything like this.

"Hey, can you hear me?" If we're going to have any chance at figuring out just what's going on, I first need to figure out how intelligent this creature is. Because from what I've read in the library…it's probably smarter than most humans. "Can you speak?"

It stares at me unblinkingly, and I could swear it smiles a little. It tilts its head and snorts, a few sparks of white flames jetting into the air and disappearing into nothingness.

"Ciara? Ciara! Shikamaru!" Sakura draws my attention with an urgent, tight call. "She's not waking up. I need to get her back inside."

"Alright, do it." Better to have her somewhere safe, just in case this dragon turns out not to be friendly.

"Wait, both of you stop." Neji's eyes glance over the dragon once more. "Its tethered to her body. If you move her away, the connection might-"

"Stop." The dragon's echoing voice stops us all in our tracks, and something about it is so familiar… "Do not move my body."

"Your body…?" It's unbelievable. I'd wanted to read about the Kekkai Genkai of her clan, but those scrolls are largely sealed away, able to be opened only with special seals and blood offerings. "Ciara? Is that you?"

The dragon shifts and raises itself up, glowing brightly as it flaps its wings and shrinks, growing smaller and smaller until a brightly, strangely shaped but human-sized form of light approaches instead. The light begins to dim and colors swirls into place.

A golden headdress encrusted with jewels and shaped into a crown bedecked with dragons wings sits atop the figure's head, chocolate locks falling to frame slitted emerald eyes. Tiny horn-like points stick out around her face, with two fin-like webbings sweeping back from her cheeks. And clad in billowing silks of white and a thin dress of red from one of the eastern nations, all of her seems gilded and embroidered and tied with gold. And only one thing can be certain. This woman is not human.

Her eyes fall on me and she smiles softly. "You look confused, Shikamaru."

I am. "Are you…really her?" I can't even begin to guess at what exactly she's done. It's almost like…if Ino's mind transfer technique was give a physical form and the ability to change shape. It…should be impossible.

She nods, her eyes warm and bright. "I am Myojo no Kaze, the Winds of the Morning Star. But…" She glows once more and in the place of the goddess of a woman appears a girl we're all very familiar with. "You recognize me better like this, don't you?"

"Ciara." If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I doubt that I would ever have believed it. "This is your clan's ability, then?"

"…A few of us could do it, not all of us." She steps towards us, walking across the lake as if she weighs no more than a feather. "But now I am the last dragon of Tenryuusai."

"Myojo no Kaze…" Neji approaches now that we know it's safe. "How did you obtain that name?"

Instead of answering, she merely smiles and turns her eyes on her still body. "It's alright, Sakura. My body is safe here. As long as no one comes to kill me while my spirit is outside of my body, I will be safe. And now, I'm going to return to it and wake up."

"Alright…" Sakura still looks uneasy about this, but there's nothing to be done, since we need Ciara back in her body. I think. That should be one of the first things I find out from her, how long she can stay out of her body, what she can do when it almost feels like her spirit can take on a physical presence, and what other risks are associated with it.

Ciara's body glows brightly and her spiritual form breaks into a million tiny balls of light, swirling around her and soaking back into her skin like raindrops on sand. It's beautiful to watch, but I still have my concerns. I know pretty well that Kekkai Genkai have a habit of having pitfalls. For clans like the Hyuga and Uchiha, it's eyestrain, and potential insanity apparently. For her, though…I can't even begin to guess.

It takes her a couple of minutes, but finally she starts to stir and emerald eyes open to the sky, blinking, then turning on each of us. "…Hey." She smiles and sits up, wincing as she holds her head. "I hadn't stayed out that long before. I guess that means I can still get better at it."

I want to ask what all of that was about, exactly, but now isn't really the time for that. "Are you alright?"

That emerald gaze finds me, and an almost sad smile curls her lips. "…Yeah, I'm okay. I just need a little more practice is all. Naruto's probably going to come back with all sorts of new tricks up his sleeve, so it wouldn't be fair for me to come up empty when its my turn for show and tell, right?"

"Right." I sigh, but if that's what she'd rather focus on, then that's fine. "Just warn us the next time you decide to do…that. I thought that someone might be attacking the mountain."

"Hmph, they can try to attack this place." Ciara closes her eyes and breathes out slowly. "But so long as I am here, no one will be allowed to attack this place or the people here."

I'm tempted to ask what exactly she'd do to anyone who attacked this place, but I get the feeling that it's not something that I actually want to know.

Ah well, I suppose I can just ask another day when the world isn't ending and dragons aren't shooting into the sky.


	52. A Fruitless Challenge

**Wow, these last couple of weeks have been brutal. I've handed in a ton of homework and studied and took my forensic anthropology midterm (fourth year course), and been working on getting final projects started…a month and a half before they're due. But, sometimes I can actually find the time to sit down and write peacefully. Not often, but it happens. And with NaNo coming up, I'll be setting aside more time for writing. :) And, as requested (though I had already started planning to start with this anyway), we're starting with a little snippet from a character you all love (at least, I hope you do).**

 **Also, a touch of clan politics. Can anyone pick out what is going to get touched on in the next chapter?**

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

Suigetsu stares at me from across the room, pissed about something, not that I care. "You're getting really smug these days, Sasuke. What gives? Is getting letters from that demon…dragon girlfriend of yours really that interesting?"

I glance at him and smirk. _If only you knew…_ Then I cast my gaze back down to the letter in my hand, written in familiar penmanship, and much more palatable than what Nara wrote me last time. And according to this letter, she appreciated my little…gift for her. I'm also a possessive asshole, if this letter is to be believed. To be fair, I never told her that I wasn't. I'm just letting those fools around her know exactly who saved her life, and who she belongs to now. Every time she wears my family's crest, they'll know.

They'll know that I'm keeping tabs on her, watching, waiting. And if there's any more little incidents involving her, then the Leaf is going to be getting a very unpleasant visit. They'll be luck if the village is still standing by the end of it.

"Hey, Earth to Sasuke!" Suigetsu tosses a wrapped onigiri at my head, but I just catch it and put it down in my lap next to the letter. "Jeez, what's wrong with you these days?"

"Hn." There's nothing wrong with me, and certainly nothing that concerns him.

My gaze trails back to the beginning of the letter and I feel my lips twitch. _So she's training again, huh?_ It sounds like she's working on learning to control…whatever it was exactly that she did the last time I saw her when her spirit left her body. _Though why she's involving the Hyuga's team…_

I don't like it, but I suppose that with a shortage of good sparring partners, that team might at least be able to handle getting her some exercise. After all, it's not like he'll teach her the Gentle Fist, she doesn't have the eyes for it. I think I've figured out just how her eyes work, but I can't be sure until I see her in a full-scale battle.

The thought of seeing her in battle is an intriguing one. _I wonder how much power she has when she's not holding back? When she's pushed to the limits and pushes right past them…_ I want to see it.

 _And when I go to take her back, I will._

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

I hit the ground hard and roll over onto my back before springing back onto my feet. I take a deep breath and dodge the next palm strike aimed at my stomach and return one of my own, only for a pale hand to block it and turn me halfway around. So I follow the motion and sweep my leg under his, barely missing him as he jumps back and regains his footing.

White eyes watch me carefully and Neji relaxes his stance. "Are you certain that you wish to keep going?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." I wipe a little trickle of blood from my mouth, not caring much that a couple of his strikes did a bit of damage to my insides. I'm already healing, so there's no need for me to fret over it. "I want to match yours and Lee's skill level, which means that I have to practice with better opponents and better teachers than I have so far." Because, no offense to Naruto's taijutsu skills, but he's not on the same level of mastery as Neji and Lee. "So if you can keep going, then come at me again. If you can't, then tag out and I'll fight Lee."

His eyes narrow slightly, then he sinks back into a fighting stance. "I can continue, my stamina is fine."

"Good." I pull back a little and pull one hand back, letting one rest in front of me as my left foot rests in front of me, only the ball and toes touching the ground.

The moment he strikes, I pivot back on my right foot and block the strike, letting it glance to the side as I return a strike of my own, aimed just above the pulmonary arteries. There's no chakra infused into my strike, since that would be fatal if it hit, but there's still some satisfaction when my fingers strike his collarbone.

He barely flinches as he presses me back with a number of quick strikes infused with chakra and aimed at the chakra points around my hips. I know from experience that strikes there can cause a lot of annoying little problems, so I roll with the strikes and get inside of his guard. I grab his arm and use his momentum to wedge my leg between his, drive my elbow into his ribcage, then flip him entirely over my shoulder and onto the ground.

A little dirt gets onto the white of his clothes, but he rolls over and springs to his feet as nimble as I did, then reengages me with a number of quick strikes so fast that I barely have time to block one before the next nearly makes contact with my skin. I'm plenty fast on my feet, but clearly there's other parts of me that I need to work on speeding up.

But something seems off as Neji leaps back one more time. It's less than a second before he tells me precisely what. "Tenten, now!"

I have barely half a second before a kunai goes whizzing through the place where my head just was. Not that I couldn't have dodged it, but now I really have to start thinking on my feet.

Another barrage of kunai whistle through the air, so I flick my wrists and the blades along my arms snap into place just in time to deflect ten of them as I dance around and dodge the rest. I glance up into a tree and smirk as Tenten pulls out a mace on a chain with explosive tags on it. _Well, that looks fun._ I'm not afraid of getting a little burnt, but I'd rather air on the side of not letting that little death machine hit me. In anyone else's hands, I wouldn't be worried, but Tenten rarely misses.

She swings it around her head and sends it shooting at me, giving me just enough time to shoot chakra into my feet and spring forward to roll across the grass and dodge it before the mace head puts a sizable dent in the ground where I was just standing.

Neji springs in from behind me and nearly slams a palm into my ribs as I dodge him. Kunai come raining down on her heads and my hands work to pummel strikes into Neji's torso, even as we both dance and dodge the hail of kunai, some of them falling so close as to create sparks as they bounce off the blades on my arms, or draw tiny hints of blood as they slice through the skin of limbs too locked together to get away. My skin steams a little as my cuts close all on their own.

I try to keep my breathing measured and under control as I pull Shisui's tanto from my hip and deflect a number of kunai, including one that finds itself in Neji's hand, slashing up towards my neck. I flip backwards, dodge a few kunai, and hurl back a few of the ones with explosive tags attached. Explosions fill the air as I pull in, my hands flying out to try and finally subdue Neji.

Only to freeze when smooth fingers find my throat and press warningly against my windpipe. "I think…that this session is over, don't you?"

I pant a little against the pressure of Neji's hand at my throat, but smile anyway. "I guess so." Then I note his gaze turning towards the house, where a familiar, but unexpected figure stands there with Hinata. "What's he doing here?" Not that the head of the Hyuga isn't welcome, I just don't really understand what business he has here, presumably with me, otherwise he would have just waited for Neji to go home to talk.

Neji pauses, but takes a moment to stretch as he eyes his uncle warily. "…Could this be about the seals we discovered a week ago?"

"I hope not." I'd hoped to broach that topic with the necessary clan heads carefully, slowly. But if that's what he's here about, then I can't say that whatever concerns he has are unwarranted. Unless, of course, they do turn out to be unwarranted. "Let's go invite him to lunch and see what he wants, then."

"Yes, that would be wise." Neji falls into step beside me as I make for the house. But I take a moment to look over my shoulder and beckon Tenten from the trees. "Time for lunch, Tenten!"

"Alright, then I'm cooking!" She grins widely as all of her weapons disappear back into her scrolls and she drops from the tree. "How many are we feeding today?"

I do a preliminary head count, then I note that Hiashi must have brought a few other Hyuga, because his other daughter peeks out the back door as well. "Enough for a full table, I would think." That way, if there's not a full room of people, we have leftovers for a quick dinner after our next training session later. Or at least a snack.

"Gotcha. You two can go and get cleaned up, I'll handle feeding the army." Tenten laughs and races inside ahead of us. Nowadays, I really do like having her around. I remember a time when we were younger when I didn't really enjoy having her around much. But…I suppose that's what happens when people grow up. They change. She sure has. And…so have I.

Speaking of grown up, it looks like I'm going to have at least one grown-up to deal with today. I just hope that Hiashi is here for a good thing, and not to…declare a clan war or something over me stealing Neji away so much these days. That's no reason to declare a clan war, right?

The seals on the other hand…well, it doesn't take a genius to figure out what I would do with them. Only a few people should know about them, but it wouldn't surprise me to learn that some of the clan heads know what they're all about. After all, most of the clans have had members take them on when they joined the family. If they want to raise issues over that, they're going to come away from all of this rather disappointed.

I climb the stairs to the back deck and smile amiably at Hiashi. "Welcome, Lord Hyuga. You and your daughters are just in time for lunch. It was about time we wrapped up our morning spar, anyway." I turn to Neji and tilt my head towards the door. "Go on and get changed. I'm sure that you've worked up as much of a sweat as I have. It wouldn't do to go to lunch like that."

"Right." Neji's eyes flicker to his uncle, then to me, then he disappears inside the house, probably to get a shower and change his clothes.

Now, I turn my own attention back on Hiashi. "Did you just come to watch us spar, or are you here for lunch?"

Hiashi shifts subtly, placing his hands into the sleeves of his kimono. "I was hoping to speak with you regarding a few…delicate matters."

I nod, knowing that this was likely the reason for his presence here. "Then I think I'll grab a shower and get changed. Feel free to explore the house if you like, lunch will be ready soon."

His brow furrows slightly. "I had hoped to speak with you promptly."

"And you will." I know that I can be ready quickly and that Tenten can cook food like there's no tomorrow, so we shouldn't be left waiting for very long. "But Dad always used to tell me that if you're going to have a serious discussion with someone, it's best to first invite them to share a meal with you. Sharing a meal brings cooler heads and warmer hearts to the table."

That decreases the furrow in his brow, and I could swear that there's a warmth to his eyes now. "I see. Then we would be glad to share a meal with you."

"Good." That's one hurdle jumped. Now I just have to find out what he wants, and how to consider whatever his request is going to be without compromising my own morals, or the safety of anyone here under my protection. Maybe I'm being dramatic, but I'm just airing on the side of caution with this. I've never had to deal with the clans before, and I know that it can be a rather tenuous task.

* * *

Maybe wearing white and red wasn't the greatest idea when paired with a meal of nicely spiced curry, spicier for me, since I like that, and less so for Neji the curry lightweight. I remember our run-in with the Curry of Life. And I can still see the strangled look on his face when Neji tried eating it, and then shied away from trying the molten red curry. His face was so pink that he looked like a strawberry mochi.

Though speaking of people who look like strawberry mochi, I squish up on the couch next to Sakura to enjoy my food. And maybe to enjoy watching a couple of elders from the Hyuga clan squirm over how utterly informal lunch is in this house. It was like this with my parents and my aunts and uncles, so I see no reason to break tradition now. That, and maybe I like to watch them squirm a little.

I spoon the curry into my mouth and smile contentedly. "Nice cooking, Tenten. We should have you cooking more often." And maybe we will if the missions for her team slow down a little. It would also be nice to train more regularly with a weapons specialist.

She grins back at me over the rim of her bowl. "Thanks, I put some extra herbs in it today that should help you get back to training like a maniac in no time."

"You mean like Lee?" I glance at our green-obsessed friend cheekily.

And as per the usual, he takes it in stride with a hearty thumbs up. "Training like a maniac is the key to eternal youth! Shall we go and spar again after lunch?"

"Sure, just let my bones stop hurting first, sparring with Neji can get pretty rough." Of course, that's why I do it. It wouldn't help in training if it wasn't a challenge. No pain, no gain, isn't that one of the things that Lee and Gai are always saying about training?

I glance over my shoulder to where Hinata and Kiba are sitting in a corner with Akamaru, all cuddled up and eating their lunch. I think I catch the words Land of Tea at some point, but I'm not entirely sure. Maybe they're planning a mission, or a vacation.

It's not as loud without Naruto here, and I didn't expect it to be, but still, the silence of the Hyuga as they eat is…unnatural. It's like they've never heard of socializing with the family during a meal. And even Neji is quieter in their presence. That…just won't do.

"Hey Neji…" I spoon a little more food into my mouth as he turns his attention on me. "How much has my speed increased during the last week?" I know well that he feels comfortable talking facts and figures, and there's no reason not to make use of that here and now.

His somber expression softens slightly and the frown on his face begins to dissipate. "You've been performing at twenty percent below your usual speed, but you've increased it to five percent below your usual speed in the past five days. A few days more, and I believe that I can begin teaching you high-speed sparring.

"Really?" I'd hoped that I was getting my routine back on track, but that makes me pretty hopeful that I'll be getting better sooner rather than later. "How fast are we talking? Will the high-speed sparring be at my usual speed, twice my usual speed, or faster?"

"We can start at your usual speed and build from there. The Gentle Fist, as you know, is performed at speeds well beyond what most ninja can accomplish, just like Lee's style of taijutsu." Neji begins to smile a little, despite the presence of his rather stern-faced relatives. "I believe that mastery of taijutsu is in the speed that you can deliver effective blows at."

"Of course." And if there's something that I'm not lacking in, generally speaking, it's speed. "I'll have to use chakra at first to keep up with you, but I might be able to train it down to minimal chakra use like you have." It's impossible to move at that speed without chakra, even for a Hyuga. It's all in the application, though, and the less I can use to achieve the desired result, the better.

"That sounds like an excellent plan!" Lee grins widely over his own bowl of food, spiced right up with half my spice cupboard dumped on it. "And after dinner, we can work off Tenten's amazing cooking by doing five hundred laps around the mountain!"

"Right…" I admire Lee's enthusiasm, but even with my semi-masochistic streak, I'm not looking forward to more of Lee's laps. I can only imagine how heavy the next set of weights he's going to outfit me with are. "Let's see how I'm doing after sparring this afternoon, first. I want to make the most of having you guys here before your next mission, and laps are something that I can do all on my own. It's not like I have access to an endless supply of Hyuga with Neji's talents." Not that Lee is replaceable by any means, but for the most part, his exercises are ones that he designed to be done alone. Neji's lessons are a little more hands-on, and best done with a partner.

One of the Hyuga elders stares pointedly at me, having finished his bowl and laid it silently down on the table while I was in the midst of discussing training. "Are these distractions finished, Lady Shiryugu? We came to discuss matters of utmost importance with you."

Clearly, or he wouldn't be trying so hard to bring my mood down. "I fail to see how sharing a meal is a distraction. It is meant to be a gesture of kindness, acceptance, and respect. To make you feel welcome here in my home." The chatter in the room begins to die as I turn to face the elderly man properly. "But if you wish to get down to the business that brought you here to my home, feel free to make it heard."

His eyes narrow slightly, as though trying to see through my intentions. Though I fear that these elders are the only ones who come with potentially concerning intentions. "It has come to our attention that certain seal have been found in your family library. Seals that concern us greatly."

It seems that this lunch is going to be spoiled after all. A pity, Tenten's cooking is very good. "You mean my family's seals, the ones given to those we care for and trust most." The ones that have, over the years, been tailored to serve a second purpose as well. "Is that right?"

"Indeed." The elder looks to Hiashi, clearly beseeching him, as the Clan Head, to speak some sense into me. "We have concerns about how the might be used, and on whom."

"I see." My fingers twitch with a hint of irritation, though I conceal it in an instant. "You needn't worry, I would only choose to put the seals on those who are agreeable to bearing my family's mark, and on those I trust the most." After all, laying these protective seals on others is not something that is to be done lightly. Though I already know who will be the firsts to receive those marks, if they agree to it.

Hiashi sighs as the elders' stares increase threefold in intensity. "That may be so, but there are concerns about just who you might choose to put the seals on. We are aware that the previous heads of your clan have placed the seals on members of other clans as well."

And…there we go. All of the lines are in place, and it's not difficult at all to read between them, I'll broach one topic and let them broach the second. "Yes, my father, grandfather, and great-grandmother placed seals on members of the family who came from other clans, as they did their own. It was a show of trust, and proof that they belonged to the dragons. Some received extra seals, designating them for particular roles, or as possessing certain bloodlines." In particular, there were several Uchiha who came and took the marks. "If you are here to ask me to divulge the secrets of those seals, then I'm sorry that you wasted a trip. There are none in your clan with the ability to use them." Because they're missing certain key ingredients, all of which can be found in me.

"Yes, so we've become aware." Hiashi sighs softly and fixes his gaze on me. "But it is not your seals that we seek, just a matter of assurance that they will not be placed on any of our clan without due permission."

"Any of your clan…and by that, I assume that you mean Neji." My gaze hardens slightly and I can see the alarm growing in Hiashi's eyes. "Because while I will not speculate on the feelings of branch members in your clan, there were several who preferred it here, and chose to take my family's mark. You would rather keep your bloodline limit within your clan, and therefore you protect it fiercely with seals of your own. Dangerous seals that cause great disadvantages to your branch members. Seals whose effects can be canceled out by the application of my own family's seals, like in the case of Haruki Hyuga. And you fear that Neji will agree to carrying those seals, along with all of the privileges and responsibilities they entail."

The elders twitch, but surprisingly, Hiashi becomes quite calm. "Indeed, that is what has become a matter of concern in our clan."

I glance at Neji, who remains cool, composed, and utterly silent. "Very well, I will agree to first asking the due permission." Though it seems that they'll be needing clarification on exactly what that means. "After all, such a decision belongs to Neji, and only to him. It isn't standard practice in my family to put the seals onto the unwilling." In fact, according to the sealed records I found, it's downright forbidden to force it on anyone. "So, if I offer the seals to him, it is entirely up to him whether or not he wants to accept."

And elderly woman's gaze turns ice cold as it falls squarely on me. "But first, you must ask his clan head and his elders if they give their permission for him to be taken away."

"No, in fact, I don't." It looks like courtesy isn't going to get it into their heads. "This place has always provided safe haven from clan persecution, and every person who chooses to take the mark and stay is no longer considered by my clan to belong to their previous one. Whether as family or a ward or a guardian of the clan, it is up to an individual, and not to their clan head or elders, to make that decision for themselves. And the control that you are trying to exert in a situation where you have none is precisely why this policy exists."

Silence fall over the room, until Lee shuffles over, his brows knitted in contemplation. "So you're saying…that if Neji wanted to leave the Hyuga and stay here with you…"

"If that were what he decided, then I would take him in as part of my family and no one could say otherwise, not a clan head, and not even the Hokage herself." That is what it means. And if Neji ever does choose that, then I will protect him with all of the might of a dragon. I glance at Neji and see his gaze lock with mine. "The offer is open to you, Neji. And it will remain open to you for as long as I am alive." Because he is among those that I believe will not betray my trust. Then I smile and glance over my shoulder at Kiba and Hinata in the corner. "The offer is open to Hinata as well, but I doubt she'd take it since she's a clan heiress."

A third elder stands up and casts a downright threatening glare on me. "You see? I told you that she couldn't be trusted. She is as conniving as her father and grandfather before her."

My fingers twitch at the blatant insult to my father, and my grandfather that I never knew. But as I rise from the couch, my chakra flaring all around me, a hand lands on my shoulder and I glance back to see… "Akito?" Grey eyes stare calmly at me, and the pressure of his hand on my shoulder is soothing.

And slowly, he smiles slightly. "It's alright, Ciara. We can take it from here."

Hiro steps up on my other side, though a little further away, and almost suspiciously placed between the elders and Neji. "Yeah, we're here for a reason, after all."

I huff softly and relax a little. "Yeah, you are." And there's a reason that these two are the ones to whom I will offer the seals first. "Hiro, Akito, would the two of you please see the elders out safely?" I turn to them with hard, protective eyes. "I trust that you enjoyed lunch. It would be a pleasure to host you longer, but I have a few words left to have with Lord Hiashi in private, before joining Neji outside for another spar." That, and I want them out of my house NOW before they try something stupid, like putting pressure on Neji.

"Sure, and we'll make sure they have no trouble with the stairs." Despite the very visible protests in their eyes, Hiro place his hands on the backs of a couple of the elders and promptly ushers them from the room before they can do more than glare accusingly at Neji.

The third elder, who looks too much like Hiashi to be anyone other than his father, glances back over his shoulder as Akito moves to escort him out as well. "Remember your duty, Neji. And remember what it means to be a Hyuga." And that is the last we see of him as Akito makes sure that he disappears from my sight.

I glare at the place where Neji's grandfather once was. "What it means to be a Hyuga…" I snort softly. I doubt that he's referring to anything pleasant with that. It felt more like he was trying to put Neji on a leash than evoke any sort of familial bond. "What does it mean…to be a Hyuga?" I turn to Hiashi, who looks far more contrite than he did before. "Somehow, I get the feeling that you and he have very different definitions of that. Don't you?"

Hiashi sighs. "Father is very…traditional. And I will admit to being a traditionalist myself."

"But you don't like the way he said that either, I'm guessing." It's clear as day in Hiashi's eyes. "I assume that he expects unquestioning loyalty to the family from Neji. From everyone."

"Yes, that is true." Hiashi nods slightly. "He has always been rather strict about it. And he was enraged when Haruki left some twenty-five years ago to take refuge here."

"With Aunt Miko." My father's older sister. "I understand the desire to keep the family together and keep the bloodline pure, but I don't think I'll ever understand how a family can invent a seal designed to cause unimaginable pain in order to force obedience." My father never had to force obedience. He never asked for obedience at all. Everything he ever achieved was through respect. I may have been a child, but even I could see how much the people around him loved Dad. "Isn't it better to follow someone's orders because you believe in them? Because you respect them? …Because you care for them and want to protect them from the bottom of your heart?"

Hiashi grows quiet, but I can feel his eyes searching me to see the truth in my words. It feels rather like a diluted version of the insightful gaze that Itachi once had, but no less profound. Then his eyes traverse the room, finding Neji, his daughter, Kiba, Sakura, Tenten, Lee… "That is the draw of this place, isn't it? I hadn't understood why Haruki could abandon our family as he did, but…" Then his gaze falls on me. "It's because he wanted a different kind of family, and a leader he respected, instead of one he feared."

"I don't know." I was only five when they were all killed, so while I can't have known all of the inner workings of the minds of adults, I knew a few things at least. "But I like to think so. My memories of my dad are…of a man who smiled a lot, and who loved his family more than anything, even if they were born into another family."

"Indeed." Hiashi eyes me and, to my surprise, bows respectfully. "I ask that you take care of Neji and Hinata, for as long as they choose to be here."

The request surprises me, but still, it makes me smile. "Of course I will. I am a dragon, after all." And I will make my family proud.


	53. Mama Dragon

**So, I'm going to goo out on a limb here and guess that you guys have been highly anticipating the events of this next chapter. I've stalled long enough to get in plenty of backstory and stuff, and now…it's time to get down to business. …After a little more exciting lore stuff. But the action is coming, and now we take the true plunge.**

 **Also, I was admittedly…less than satisfied with some of the fights that went down in this arc. I mean, I love the arc as a whole, but I feel like there's places where we missed out on some potentially epic fights, like the ones that were teased and never followed through on in the opening theme. So…I'll be taking some creative liberty here.**

 **Also, yes to those who guessed who's going to survive this story.**

 **Here comes the fierce mama dragon.**

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

I glance down at the book one more time, like I've done every day for the last week. I can't say that I've ever seen this done before, but it's a process that's been carried out countless times before. That means that it's got to be safe, right? I mean, Dad never would have put the seals on people if it was going to hurt them.

Still, I can't help but worry that I'm going to screw up somehow. There's just so much that I'm still learning about the secrets kept within my family…and there's no one here who can really teach me any of it. I'm just working off of old records and instinct.

 _Well, at least I can heal them if I do end up screwing any of this up._ And I know how resilient those two are. If anyone can handle it…I know it'll be them. _Akito…Hiro…_

"Hey, what's that look for?" My gaze snaps up to see gentle gray eyes staring at me. Akito smiles and glances at the scroll in my hands. "…So, are we doing this or what?"

"Akito?" I frown slightly and put down the scroll on the table in front of me. "What are you talking about?"

He snorts and points at the scroll in my hands. "You don't think that you're the only one who's been in this library, do you? I took a look through those scrolls myself. I know what's in some of them, including that one. Hiro and I know what the seals do and how they're used, and we're both ready to take the guardian seals."

"You're…" I take a moment to let that sink in. "…You've been talking about this on your own, haven't you?"

"Yeah." He strides towards me and puts his hands on my shoulders. "We know that it's usually taken on by a dragon's siblings, but since you don't have any…we want to fill that role for you. We want to protect and watch over you." Akito shoots me a lopsided grin. "After all, someone has to."

I roll my eyes and shoo him off. "You've been spending too much time with Hiro." He's starting to sound like him.

His grin turns right into a smirk. "Of course I have. Didn't you notice that the room you gave Hiro is almost never used?"

"Too much information." My cheeks heat a little. I mean, I know that they're…up to stuff, but I don't really need to hear it, or about it. Though I'm happy that they're happy. And that the rooms are soundproof. "But…you're sure, then? It's a big responsibility."

Akito laughs and picks up the scroll and rolls it back up. "Yeah, we're sure. We understand what it means for us to do this, and what it means to you."

"I see…" I guess I just needed to hear the reassurance. "I just don't know if I'm ready to perform the seals. I'm worried about messing something up and hurting both of you."

"We'll be fine." He takes my hand and pulls me to my feet. "Do you remember the sequence of signs you'll need and the chakra concentration?"

"Of course." That part of the theory was what I picked up quickly. It's just that keeping all of the characters straight and the application of the chakra without overwhelming them is what I think is going to prove most challenging.

"Then just think of it like applying medical ninjutsu and it'll be okay. You've got chakra control that most shinobi can only wish that they had." I honestly can't believe how much faith he has in me to do this right when I haven't ever even practiced it before. Not…that it's something that I can just practice on anyone and anything, but…

Still, it's not like staring at a scroll for another week is going to make me any more prepared than I am now. "Alright, let's go."

"Good." He guides me out of the library and back up the stairs into the hall containing all of the wisdom that my ancestors possessed. "We've already set up everything that we need to start."

"You have?" I glance around into the corners and note the braziers have been lit and set to burn with a vibrant orange glow. A stone pedestal and bowl sit just outside of the ritual circle in the floor, ready to be filled and used to write. _They're serious…_

Akito squeezes my hand and pulls me over to the circle in the middle of the room. "Sakura and Neji are here to watch, just in case. So don't worry so much, we've thought of everything."

"Clearly." I can't help but hum with amusement. They understand the risks present with any sealing ninjutsu, and they understand what comes with the seal they want performed. It's…been taken out of my hands. I could never deny them this request, not when I planned on making the offer myself. "Then let's begin."

"Here, you'll need this." Hiro steps forward and hands me a shining silver blade. "I'd tell you to be careful with it, but I think that everyone in this room already knows that you can handle a tiny scratch." He winks mischievously and he almost…almost makes me want to pinch that grin off his face.

But his joke does make me smile. "Yeah, I can definitely handle this part." I glance at Akito as I step towards the stone bowl. "I take it that the formula has already been activated in the floor with chakra?"

"Yeah, it's ready for us." Akito bends down and kneels on the floor, pressing his hand to it and setting the symbols there briefly aglow. "Hiro and I have infused our chakra into it, just like the scroll said."

"Idiots…" I huff at them, though there's no venom in it. Because these two may be idiots, but they're MY idiots. "You know that you were supposed to wait for me to be here before you did that."

Hiro points his finger at Akito immediately as he kneels next to Akito. "Blame him, he was even more impatient than I was."

I raise an eyebrow as I raise my arm over the bowl and place the blade to it. "More impatient than you were?" I'm pretty sure that I can smell a conspiracy as I drag the blade across my arm and spill my blood into the stone bowl.

Akito rolls his eyes, but relaxes slightly as the blood in the bowl begins to drain slowly through a tube carved into the pedestal. My blood drains into the circle, only to be pushed and pulled by the chakra infused there. "This is why you should let me do the talking."

"Clearly." I've always known that Akito is the more careful speaker of these two, but…the truth is still written all over his face. And honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. The most important part of this right here is trust, and the three of us have that for each other in spades.

The cut on my arm sizzles and steams, closing up as my vein and skin knit themselves back together. "Last chance to turn back." I offer it to them as a courtesy, but that look in their eyes tells me only one thing. By the time we're done, they'll both carry my mark on their skin. And I'll carry them both in my heart and soul until the day my spirit passes from this world. "…Alright. Then we begin."

I press my hands together into the sign of the dragon, which both begins and ends the sequence. At times like this, I'm reminded as to why these are so important. It really would be difficult to focus all of the chakra billowing in shining white clouds around me and twist it into the shapes that it will need to take in order to grasp them and fuse into their bodies. At least neither of them has a bloodline, otherwise this ritual would have been a lot more complicated.

Four sets of eyes watch me as the chakra in the room spikes, far beyond what any room should be capable of holding without exploding. And when my hands come together once more in the sign of the dragon, it all condenses within the circle as the characters upon the ground glow a vibrant scarlet, then pure white like my chakra. Gusts of wind swirl about the room, growing faster and stronger as the chakra builds further, nearly at critical mass.

When I open my mouth, the words are mine, but they don't feel…quite like mine. As though there is another speaking with my mouth, but also with my heart. "I, Myojo no Kaze, do hereby take you, my friends, family, and allies into my heart and into my service as my trusted protectors. I am yours to protect and watch over, even as you are mine." I kneel down before them and reach my shining hands towards them, placing one palm on the left side of Akito's neck, and the other on the right side of Hiro's. My chakra flows through me, condensing there and focusing to a razor-sharp point. "Now, let the seal be set and rise once more as guardians of this dragon, the Winds of the Morning Star."

If I wasn't at the very center of the near explosion of chakra, I would have said it was just that, an explosion. But no, instead…it's like a typhoon of energy focused all around us, flowing out of me and into them, branding them with the marks of my trust. Hiro flinches slightly under the onslaught of chakra, but Akito remains perfectly still, no alarm or panic in his eyes, but a sort of…understanding as they weather the storm of power. Because it's not just my power flowing into them…

I am giving to each of them a tiny piece of my soul.

* * *

My body feels very strange, I can't quite…describe it. I feel warm, almost…cushioned? I can feel myself sitting down, not on the floor exactly. But there's two arms around my back, and two hands holding mine. But the cushioning feels like…there's someone else within me, but…not within me, and they're holding my heart in their hands like a swaddled newborn. It's so odd…but nice. I like it.

"Ciara? Are you almost awake now?" _That's…Akito's voice, isn't it?_ "You can't sleep forever, you know." _Hiro?_

My brow furrows as I slowly blink my eyes open, only to see two very familiar faces above me. "…What happened?"

Akito smiles and squeezes one of my hands, his other hand pressing behind my back and shifting me slightly on his…their laps. "You fainted when the chakra connection was severed. You've been unconscious for a good fifteen minutes now."

"Fifteen minutes? The chakra was…?" I don't get it, did something go wrong? "What happened to the seals? Did they fail?"

Akito glances over me at Hiro, who squeezes my other hand reassuringly. "Nah, they didn't fail. It just looks like it took more out of you than any of us expected. But you're up now, so I think that's a pretty good recovery time."

"Oh." I suppose that it's good that I recovered quickly, I just hadn't expected the backlash to be quite so…intense? "So the seals took?"

"Yeah, they did." Akito tilts his head, baring his neck and exposing the shimmering white insignia of a dragon rising from a magnolia. It's not much bigger than a coin, but if you're looking for it, then you can't miss it. Otherwise…it just kinda looks like a tattoo.

I lift my hands from theirs and reach up to touch the marks now embedded in their skin. They're warm to the touch and so familiar, but yet…not. Like my chakra is mixing with theirs at those spots. "How do you two feel? Are you in pain at all?"

Hiro shakes his head. "No way. It's…incredible, actually. It feels like your chakra is flowing into us. I feel twice…maybe three times as strong as I used to."

"We think it's part of the fail-safes built into the sealing jutsu." Akito smiles softly. "After all, what good would we be at protecting you if we couldn't keep up with you on a battlefield? I think that this is what the scroll meant when it said 'sharing in a dragon's strength' near the end. You're feeding us your chakra, probably like a radio transmission."

"Huh." I hadn't thought of it like that, but it makes sense. After all, what good would a guardian be if they were too weak to protect anyone? "I'm just glad that neither of you are hurt." And from now on, not only will they be better able to protect me and each other, but they'll be able to protect themselves even better from the enemies that are likely fast approaching in search of me. "Give me another few minutes, then we'll get back to training. The Akatsuki are coming, and I have to be ready to meet them in battle."

"WE have to be ready to meet them in battle." Akito ruffles my hair and shoots us both a determined smile. "You're not going into this alone, remember?"

That warmth cocoons around me and I feel…calm inside, peaceful, happy. It's like…even though I gave parts of myself away, with them here…I feel more complete than I did before. _Did Dad feel like this too with his brothers and sisters?_

I close my eyes and smile softly. _Yeah…I think he did._

* * *

My mind is calm, quiet…well, as quiet as it can get with a giant demon bird hanging out in it, but to be fair…that's still pretty quiet. It's perfect. I can sense the entire mountain without even really trying. And I can sense Hiro and Akito moving clearly throughout the house.

Neji left yesterday afternoon to deal with some team business, and Shikamaru is off with the cipher corps again, Sakura is running errands for Grandma Tsunade, and Sai is…

I open my eyes and frown. I actually have no idea where Sai is. He comes and goes on his own time, but he's never disruptive about any of it. He's almost like a ghost, now that I think about it. I think it's sad, but he doesn't seem bothered by it. Though he SHOULD be bothered by it.

I rest my chin in my hand and sigh. "I suppose that's going to be one of the next challenges to deal with." Now that I'm like this, now that I'm grown and my immediate problems are largely dealt with, I should see what I can do about that forced emotionlessness that Sai suffers from. It's not natural…and I can't imagine that it's helathy either. "What to do…"

"Ciara!" the doors slam open and Hiro races inside, followed closely by Akito. And they do NOT look happy. "The village is under attack!"

"…" The initial shock lasts only a moment as dread sets in and my senses sharpen. "They're here, aren't they?"

Akito's expression twists into an anguished frown. "The Hokage just sent a messenger hawk up here to let us know."

"I see." I want to race out immediately, but I know very well how dangerous it is to go out on a mission half-cocked. "Get your gear and meet me in the armory. I want us going out there fully prepared to engage in full-scale battle."

"Ciara…" Akito's eyes drop briefly to my stomach, and I know exactly what he's thinking. "They're here for you and Naruto. We have to be careful. They have to be eliminated, but we can't let them just take what they want and retreat."

"I know." But as careful as I need to be to not let them capture me again, there's no way that I'm just going to sit back while they raze the village to the ground. I won't let them do it. Because this is my home, this is my territory. It belongs to ME, and they are not allowed to destroy it. Not while a dragon still lives. "If they want to destroy this place to get to us…then they won't be leaving this village alive."

* * *

Shikamaru's P.O.V.

Of all the rotten times for an attack to happen. Right when we have our guard down is the worst. Missions have been slow, so a lot of my old classmates have been relaxing or focusing on internal affairs. We should have seen this coming. But if we're going to have any hope of repelling this attack, then we have to get organized and fast. At least I've sent Kurenai off, and now that the evacuations have started, we can at least try to save as many of the civilians as possible.

I leap across the rooftops until I spot Sakura running around below me. "Sakura!"

She skids to a stop and looks up at me, jade eyes wide with anger and determination. "Shikamaru!"

"Come with me, I'm going to find the others and get us organized!" There isn't a second to waste now and I need her to agree fast.

"Alright!" She takes a flying leap and lands beside me. "It's the Akatsuki, isn't it?"

"Probably." I haven't gotten an official report yet, but considering what we've been investigating and what we're trying to protect, they're the only enemy I can think of with a reason to attack us right now with these guerrilla tactics. "Come on, I want to find Ino and Choji, Kurenai's team, and Gai's team. We stand a better shot if we're all together." Because we grew up together, we know each other. We've been on so many joint missions since we graduated the academy that I can make a strategy work for just about any combination of us.

Saukra follows me as I take off across the rooftops again. "What about Squad Twelve? They're still up on the mountain, aren't they?"

"Probably, but I have a feeling that they'll be here pretty soon." If I were Lady Tsunade, one of the first messages I would send out would be one up there. Naruto isn't here right now, so we're going to need a heavy hitter on our side. _And if she's gotten as strong as I think she has…_

"Shikamaru!" Sakura points down along the road leading to the interrogation corps' headquarters.

"Ino!" I jump off the roof and land next to her as she races back out of the building. "Where's Choji?"

"He went to raise the Akimichi's war alarm, then he's going to head to the hospital with food pills for the injured." Ino pants lightly, obviously she's been running pretty hard. "It's the Akatsuki, isn't it?"

"Looks like it." Every question just makes me believe it even more. Which doesn't encourage me much. I remember the last time we went up against the Akatsuki. And I remember what we lost back then. "Come on, we have to round up everybody else and-"

"Fang over Fang!" Two whirling tornadoes of black and silver race past us, barreling into a giant orange and black centipede.

Ino almost huffs out a laugh. "Well, that was easy."

"Kiba!" Hinata and Shino race into sight, following behind their whirling teammate. "Shikamaru! Sakura! Ino!"

"Good, we found you." That just leaves Gai's team and Choji. Though the fact that it's been easy to run into each other worries me. This usually only happens when shit's really about to go sideways. "Hinata, can you find Neji, Tenten, and Rock Lee?"

"Yes!" Watching Hinata's Byakugan go to work almost makes me wish that I could have eyes in the back of my head as well. "…I found them! Two kilometers north of us at three o'clock."

"Excellent." I survey the pillars of smoke rising into the sky, then glance at Sakura. "The hospital is going to need you right now. We've got a lot of casualties and even more wounded. Head over there and tell Choji where we're headed. But be ready to come back to the battlefield, we might need to have a couple of combat medics on standby."

"Got it." She turns towards the hospital and disappears from sight, leaving the five of us to go on the hunt for Gai's team.

I turn my gaze towards the north, towards where a number of those centipedes have congregated. "Alright, let's head for those summons and lend Team Gai a hand. Then we'll regroup and come up with a plan." And we'll hope to hell and back that Naruto and Ciara get here sometime soon.

* * *

"Tenten!" Neji's voice echoes across the street as we arrive on the scene to a hailstorm of kunai equipped with explosive tags.

"On it!" I signal for the others to take cover as a hurricane of explosive tags go off within spitting distance of us. I can't blame Tenten for her tactics, but it would be nice to get through this battle in one piece and not end up accidentally blown up by a friend's arsenal.

 _Alright, we've found just about everybody. All we've gotta do is collect them._

The three giant centipedes nearly cause an earthquake when they crash to the ground. I peer over the rubble from a downed building to see Lee sitting on top of one, Tenten wiping her brow, and Neji peering about with cautious eyes.

His eyes turn on us and he relaxes a fraction. "You can come out, Shikamaru, we've just finished up here."

"Good." I rise to my feet and get a better look at the carnage the three of them caused. It definitely looks like a lotus or two hit this place before the explosive hurricane did. "Did you manage to collect any intel while you were fighting?"

Tenten shakes her head. "No, all we saw were the summons. Whoever summoned them isn't anywhere near here."

"Damn it." We're running around practically blind here with only a few scraps of intel that won't do us any good unless we get more.

"Shikamaru." Ino lands next to me, her expression serious. "I do have some intel that was passed to me by Lady Shizune and my father before I left the interrogation corps. It seems like all of the Pains have chakra receivers embedded in their bodies, and one of the Pains, the one that summoned these things, used to be a corpse!"

"A corpse?" _As in dead? But that makes no sense. There's no way that a dead body could be wreaking all this havoc._ "Are you sure, Ino?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. That's exactly what Dad said." And as impossible as Ino's intel sounds, it wouldn't be the first time that we've dealt with an Akatsuki who doesn't seem to know when to lay down and die.

Neji eyes us carefully. "If it's as you say and the summoner was once a corpse, then I'm certain that Lady Hinata and I can discern it with our Byakugan."

"Good, then first we need to find one of the Pains and try to shake another profile out." I hate going into battle with almost no information, but it really doesn't look like we're going to have a choice here. It's now or never, and the village is already taking heavy damage from the summons running amok. "Neji, Hinata, scout around with your Byakugan and-"

I can't even finish giving out some orders before a huge blast wave slams into us from the east. It sets my ears ringing before I even hit the ground.

"Kakashi-Sensei!" That's Choji's voice. He must have headed this way after meeting Sakura at the hospital. _Alright, new plan. Collect Choji AND Kakashi, then deal with whatever Pain is closest._ Which, presumably, is whichever one caused that huge blast wave.

My head spins a bit as I sit up and the ringing intensifies until a pair of hands cover my ears, glowing warmly around my head. Blonde hair drifts over my shoulder and I breathe a sigh of relief. "Ino." But my voice sounds garbled to my own ears. _Ah…ruptured eardrums._

Slowly, the ringing and the glow begins to fade and Ino removes her hands. "Shikamaru, what was that?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm betting that we're about to find out." I stagger to my feet and look around to get a feel for the situation. And one thing sticks out pretty clearly. Two Akatsuki cloaks. _Fuck…there's two of them._ We're supposed to try and take them on one at a time, but it looks like that's not going to be an option here.

My gaze drifts to Kakashi and Choza and the squad there to back them up, all struggling to their feet on the edge of a crater. _At least we still have the advantage in numbers._ I don't know how much that's actually going to help us, but it's better than fighting two on two or being outnumbered ourselves.

While Ino runs over the Team Gai to treat them, Shino drops out of a pile of bugs, looking like he weathered the blast wave pretty well. "Shikamaru, what do we do? We can't allow this Pain to set off those blast waves throughout the village."

He's right. Somehow, we have to keep whichever of the two Pains did that from setting off more of those. If we let that one run amok, he could flatten the village. "We split the two of them up and engage them separately. We need to get profiles on each one individually, but we can't allow them to corner us by letting them gather their strength. And we need to get as much intel as we can before Ciara and Naruto get here." Though that's definitely going to be easier said than done. These are, after all, the ones who managed to infiltrate the village and start a guerrilla war with impunity.

"Interesting…" I spin around as a deep voice appears behind us. And up on the building is another man in an Akatsuki cloak, this one with long ginger hair. _Another Pain?_ "You know where the jinchuuriki are, then? Good. If you give up the information peacefully, I will allow those of you here to live."

"You're not very smart if you believe that any of us would tell you where either of them are." Neji strides forward and puts himself between us, his hands held in preparation to strike as he bends his knees and sinks down. "Shikamaru, you were right. There's chakra running through this one, but the cells of the body have died."

"Got it…" _Which means that…this one is a corpse as well?_ The real one's not among them. Those were the words of the coded message that Lord Jiraiya left for us. If the one we're facing is a corpse, and another one is a corpse. Then… _Are they all corpses? Is this like the forbidden technique that Orochimaru used to bring back the First and Second Hokage during his attack on the village? Is the 'real' one summoning them somehow?_

"Now, will you give up their location, or will you pay for your insolence with your lives?" I turn about again to see another Pain, this one with short, spiky orange hair that almost reminds me of Naruto's. "Choose wisely."

Akamaru growls as he and Kiba shift closer to us. And Kiba looks like he smelled something worse than Naruto passing gas. "Watch out, these guys smell like death."

Yet another confirmation that we're dealing with corpses. "Yeah, seems like they're all dead." Though I'm still trying to figure out the trick. Which isn't going to be easy now that we've got half of them bearing down on us. _What a drag…_

"Now…" the spiky-haired one lifts a hand, holding up a dark rod that he points at us. "Tell me where the jinchuuriki are."

My lips twitch and I almost…almost smirk. "Not happening."

"Very well, then." The air around him starts to warp, and I can feel my body being pulled off the ground and towards him.

But a huge mass of transparent white slams down in front of us and bars us from being pulled any further, cracking the ground as the Pain behind us goes whizzing over my head and crashing into a now abandoned building. An earth-shattering roar erupts above our heads and I chance a look upwards at the beast who unleashed it.

It's a giant, shining, snarling dragon opening its maws to unleash a second mighty roar and a flood of pure white flames.

 _…Fuck…She's pissed…_


	54. Rage From Above

**Aw…all the nice comments are making me feel all warm and fuzzy. Which is great, since it's Christmas and I need the warm fuzzies over here. Looks like there's some new folks out there binge reading too, that's always nice to hear.**

 **So, this chapter took much longer than I expected. Between Nano, collabs, and digging myself out of the end of semester mountain of homework, it's been hard to sit down and write a full chapter (though I did make quite a bit of headway on my Nano project). I nearly killed myself getting my three thousand word history paper on the law codes pertaining to thievery and punishment in Anglo-Saxon England done, as well as a thirty-three page lab report, and two 1k word essays for my take-home final, but I managed it without keeling over! (Wow, in hindsight, I'm not actually sure how I DIDN'T die).**

 **So here it is and please enjoy the battles because there's more to come of that in the next chapter. And since Sasuke's pov is a rather popular request, here's a special treat for you all. It comes with foreshadowing and plot. There's going to be a few pov switches so try imagining it like a split screen, okay?**

 **Also, I slipped in a couple of references, who can spot them? Here's a hint: One comes from a TV show, the other from a video game.**

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

I never expected there to be so many places in the Land of Fire to hide. It feels as though there must be a hundred of these shrines spread across this country alone. But it's good to have safe places to sleep where there's no danger of running into the Akatsuki or the Leaf again. And most of the time, these shrines are peaceful and quiet, with plenty of room to keep the others occupied while I read.

If only they could be quiet all the time. "Oi, Sasuke! Get in here!" Suigetsu's yelp bounces off the walls of the shrine and into the back room that I claimed for myself the moment we got here. "Something weird is going on with this statue!" It's a shrine to a dragon, of course there's going to be something strange going on with the statue.

I put down on of the books I kept from Ciara's collection and frown as I pass through the doorway into the shrine hall. "What is it, Suigetsu?" And though I expected him to be on about some nonsense again, I do have to note that Karin and Jugo have both been struck dumb by the sheer amount of light glaring out of the statue and into the room. That statue definitely wasn't doing that when we first arrived, and neither did any of the others in the dozen and a half shrines we've stayed in. This dragon statue is dedicated to…Yakeru Taiyo On'na, if I translated it right, a female dragon and Ciara's great-grandmother, according to the naming book.

He points dumbly to the statue. "Why the fuck is this thing glowing? It just started shining out of nowhere and I don't like it. This place has gotta be haunted!"

"Did you touch it?" Maybe he activated some sort of ninjutsu that was left behind on the statue. Ciara's family does seem to like attaching ninjutsu to inanimate objects. And to people. And to whatever else they can get away with. The clan history book hidden in my things indicated that it's a territorial sort of claim that goes all that way back to the days of the last holy dragons.

"Why the fuck would I touch the giant dragon statue? It doesn't need me touching it to get all glowing and shit!" Suigetsu back away as the dragon's eyes shine with a blinding white light and the metal of its body glows like molten gold.

He has a point, and even if there was a ninjutsu attached to the statue, with Ciara's chakra still clinging to us, none of us should set off any sort of alarms or traps. Then what's causing the statue to glow like this?

I ready chakra in the palm of my hand, just in case this turns out to be a triggered trap after all, but the moment that I raise up my hand to touch the statue, light fills the room and a great burst of burning hot chakra blasts through the metal and up my arm. The pulse sears itself into my vision, irritating my already exhausted eyes.

"Sasuke!" Karin rushes towards me and grabs hold of my arm, squeezing at my elbow as she shakes me and tugs me away from the statue. "Show me your hand, that chakra pulse must have…"

But when she turns my hand over, I look down to see that the pulse didn't leave any physical mark on me. Where there should be burns, there's just a lingering white chakra. _White chakra…Ciara?_ The chakra feels familiar, it feels and looks like hers. _But why would her chakra be here? And more importantly, why is it this strong?_ The pulse felt powerful, too powerful. It didn't feel at all like a pulse of healing chakra or residue left to send a message. It feels more like the pulse of chakra that I felt the last time she…

The last time she was breathing fire at Madara. _Fuck!_

I turn away from the statue and storm back into the small room I claimed for sleeping. It's not even a conscious realization at first, just an instinct. I know what's happening to her now.

"Sasuke? What the hell is going on here!?" Suigetsu barges in through the open door, only to find me packing up. "Whoa, where are you going?"

"We're going to the Leaf." I should never have let them take her back. I should have kept her with me where she would be safe. And she's not safe in that village that clearly can't protect her.

"To the Leaf? Why the hell do you want to go there? I thought that the whole point of us hiding out in these shrines and shit was so that we could stay out of sight and away from them." Maybe it doesn't make sense to him, but it's because I know what that pulse meant better than he does.

I zip my pack closed and pull my cloak around my shoulders. The longer I can go unseen, the better my chances of getting in and getting her out before anyone notices that she's gone. "Because she's not safe in the Leaf. That chakra pulse is how she feels in the middle of a battle."

"…Shit!" And so, the scramble to pack up and leave begins.

* * *

Shikamaru's P.O.V.

"What the hell is that thing!?" Kiba's voice rings through the air like a damn bell as he ducks down behind a piece of rubble with Akamaru. "Hey! Shikamaru!"

"It's her…" I'd expected her to come either bursting in like Naruto does, or show up out of the blue and attack them from behind, the way that she likes to do. I never factored THIS into the equation. She just swooped right down out of the sky, letting the battlefield tremble in her wake.

She raises up a mighty, clawed limb and sweeps it across the street in front of us, forcing Pain's bodies back. Then a growl rumbles through the air and even her glowing form is vibrating with it. The world is shaking with her fury. And I don't envy the asshole who thought provoking her to anger was a good idea.

The rumble grows louder and she shakes her head slightly as her jaws open, spilling tiny drops of white fire. "Everyone down!" She's going to try to barbecue them, and we need to stay down and out of the way, or we're gonna get blasted right along with them.

Heads disappear behind buildings and rubble, everyone taking cover as everything brightens and a terrifying, bellowing roar fills the air. I shield my eyes against the blinding light produced by the flood of pure white fire that erupts from her mouth. If I didn't know that she was here to protect us, I'd almost think she was trying to cook us.

The ground shakes underneath me and a huge wall of rock bursts out of the ground and completely cuts me off from the fire. There's only one person I know who would be throwing up defensive walls while she's breathing enough fire to melt a volcano.

"Shikamaru." A lopsided form lands next to me behind cover, only that's not quite right, it's two people, not one. Grey eyes glance over my head at the battle that's knocked over at least two buildings. His arms curl tightly around Ciara's unconscious body. "We got here as fast as we could once we found out what was going on. Who's here with you right now?"

Finally, someone I can relay information to properly. "Ino, Kiba and Akamaru, Hinata, Shino, Neji, Tenten, and Lee. We ran into Kakashi, Choza, and Choji but the battle was already in progress when we got here. But there's something wrong with the Pains, we think they're-"

"Corpses." Akito sighs frustratedly as the top of another building comes tumbling down into the street. "Ciara said that she felt something like that the last time she fought the Akatsuki. She said that the ones with the ginger hair all felt dead to her."

So these are the ones she went up against before…not good. If they were able to take her out, then that doesn't reassure me about our odds. "Alright, what else did she tell you about the Pains and their abilities?"

Akito's grip on Ciara's body tightens and his eyes take on a steely look to them. "I'll tell you everything she told me and Hiro, so listen up, we don't have much time."

* * *

Ino's P.O.V.

 _No way…there's just no way…_ I've never seen anything like THIS before. Sure, projecting the spirit out of your own body is a technique that my clan uses so that we can control the minds of our opponents on the battlefield, but to eject that spirit and give it a physical form like this is just…unreal.

"Ino!" I peek out from behind a huge slab of concrete only to almost be bowled over by a wall of chubby ninja.

"Choji!" I grab at him, slap a hand over his mouth, and pull him behind the concrete. "What are you thinking? We need to stay quiet or they'll find us before we can get organized."

He mumbles against my hand, then shakes his head and pulls it off. "I know, Ino, but…are you seeing what I'm seeing? Is that really a dragon like in those kids' stories?"

I peek around the concrete again at the giant shimmering dragon spirit flicking the Pains away like flies. But they just keep on coming back. "…Yeah, that's what it looks like, Choji." I duck my head back down when violent gusts of wind howl through the streets and nearly blow down all the rubble strewn around the road. "Damn it!" How are we supposed to help at all if we can't even get out from behind cover?

"What sort of trickery is this?" That's him, one of them, anyway. That's the Pain that commands the other ones. "What sort of creature is this that you have summoned in your futile attempts to save yourselves from a god?"

"A god?" I can't help but peek around the rubble again, but this time, it's the dragon who speaks with HER voice. With its, her head held high, she snorts out a plume of bright white fire. "You're no god. The gods of this land are all long since dead." There's a bitterness to her voice that I've never heard before. It cuts like a knife.

She starts shrinking down. The dragon's tail and wings recede and everything about her grows smaller, but no less bright. And now she stands there, her hair flowing and swirling like a ghostly sheet of melting chocolate. She looks human again, but also…not. There's just something different about her, beyond the obvious fact that she's a spirit outside of her body. "Akito…"

"Yes, My Lady." My eyes widen as Akito jumps out from behind the pile where Shikamaru was. In his arms is her body, unconscious because of the lack of her spirit inside of it. And Akito, he's…there's something different about him too, her chakra is all over him, like a luminous lotion has been rubbed into his skin. He holds her body near the middle of the crater created by Pain's blast wave, completely unafraid of the Akatsuki standing in front of him.

"Thank you, Akito." Ciara's spirit glows brightly, then bursts into a shower of shimmering lights that race back towards her body and sink in through every inch of her skin.

"I see, so this is one of the abilities of the Ten-Tails' jinchuuriki, is it?" Pain steps forward, pausing only when the light pulses around her. "Hand her over now and tell us where the Nine-Tails jinchuuriki is and we will stop this assault on your village."

"Keep asking, maybe you'll sound less crazy if you say it a couple hundred more times." Hiro jumps down from on top of a knocked over building, his forearms coated in dense, compacted stone. "But don't expect things to go the same way that they did when you had a chance to surprise her out in the middle of the woods. This is her territory now."

"Yes, it is." Brown hair sways back and forth as she rises from Akito's arms. Two braids pull her hair back from her temples and twist together over the rest left loose down her back. "This is my home, my territory, and you are not permitted to be here." Her knuckles crack as she clenches her fist, her emerald eyes glowing with anger.

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

I'm getting better at this, I can feel my limbs responding even faster now. At first, when I let my soul of of my body, it would take as much as twenty minutes before I was fully conscious, had feeling in all of my limbs, and no lingering numbness. But now, I can regain consciousness in seconds and feeling in only seconds more. _My strength is growing…_

Good, because the corpse before me isn't going to be easy to defeat, no matter how angry I am and no matter how hard I'll fight to protect the ones gathered here, how hard I'll fight to protect this village, this land from the destruction that he brings. "Things aren't going to end the way they did last time, I promise you that. But since you're insisting on turning this into a war, you shouldn't count on my gentle nature to save you from a dragon's wrath."

"Indeed, things will not turn out the same way this time." The Pain before me raises his hand in that familiar motion that I remember from the last time we threw down. "The Uchiha is no longer here to betray the Akatsuki and steal you away."

He sure likes to talk a lot, but that's fine, it'll give the others time to get organized. If he wants to talk, then I'll engage him in a battle of wits and buy as much time as I can. Because Kakashi isn't looking so good right now, and everyone else is still hidden behind debris. "I guess that means I command the loyalty of the Uchiha more than you ever could. Itachi specifically avoided letting me get close to any of you and Sasuke successfully broke me out of your dungeon. Not a great track record you have there for keeping them under your thumb."

Pain raises a hand, gathering chakra all around it. "Where is Naruto Uzumaki?"

Of course, NOW he decides to start calling Naruto by his name. As if he actually cares about us as people at all. But knowing him, Naruto's probably getting ready to show up any second now. "You're that eager to fight the both of us at once, are you?" Out of the corner of my eye, I can see several forms milling about behind the rubble, taking up new positions across the ruined battlefield. The last thing I'd wanted was for them to get caught up in mine and Naruto's problems, but it looks like there's not much of a choice to be made here. As if they'd ever let me rest if I made the choice for them.

"It would not be the first time I've had to fight two jinchuuriki at once." His words ring hollow within me, jabbing at a barely healed scar with a sharp kunai, just waiting to tear it open again. One of his other bodies jumps down to join him, this one with slicked back hair. _That's two…_

Three and four come crawling our from under a pile of rubble, and one of them looks distinctly mechanical. And half broken. _One of them's crippled, for now._ But considering the fight that Pain gave me last time, I wouldn't count that one out of the running just yet.

The ground under my feet shakes as pebbles bounce along what used to be a street. Now, all there's left is a shallow crater surrounded by the remains of the buildings that Pain's ninjutsu crushed. My gaze rises to see another building callously swept aside by a giant millipede. And I have to say that it doesn't pull off orange and black nearly as well as Naruto does. On its head are two more of the Pain bodies.

One is the female, the summoner, and one other whose abilities that I haven't had a chance to witness yet. The one in front of me doing the talking with the attraction and repulsion abilities, I know. The one next to him who likes to cancel out ninjutsu, I remember from a flash of battle around Utakata. Which means that the one who looks rather mechanical must have been the one responsible for the explosions back then and again now. That leaves the lanky one with the long hair and the heavyset one with the spiky hair that I haven't figured out yet.

 _Are you prepared for this, Chick?_ Warmth spreads through my veins, part of it gentle and the other part fierce and anticipatory.

 _Yes._ There are no doubts in my mind now. I will fight, to the death if need be, to end this threat to the people I love. _He threatens Naruto, his compatriot threatens Sasuke, his organization threatens the village and anyone else who dares to have a jinchuuriki in their midst. He callously murders our kind without remorse. This cannot be allowed to stand._

 _Indeed._ Heat floods my eyes, throwing the world into a wash of vibrant colors. _It may be sooner than we had hoped, but should you wish to fight unrestrained, I will fight by your side._

It is sooner than I hoped. I'd wanted to have more time to practice, to be sure that nothing will go wrong. But it looks like I'm not going to have that kind of time. _We'll save it and hold it back as a last resort._

 _It would not do to show our hand to early._ It reassures me that he agrees. _Your friends are on the move. The central body is about to attack._

 _Right._ I remember what worked the last time and how it failed. But it doesn't seem like Kisame is around to crush me underneath Samehada this time, and now I've got more than one distracted set of eyes watching my back. Things aren't going to turn out the same way they did the last time.

That same feeling of weightlessness hits me, lifting me off the ground like a puppetmaster pulling my strings. …That's not going to fly.

Heat prickles my skin and my vision floods with a new wave of color. This man believes that this trick will work a second time, and I'll just go flying in to my death? "Not today." I fill my lungs with that heat, even as tails flare out all around me. Some slam into the ground and anchor me there, while others still catch a number of my friends before they can be pulled into that disaster field. Then, I open my mouth and release the next torrent of flames to pass my lips in a thundering roar.

I watch as they move, one of them going at first to intercept the flames, before his cloak catches fire and they all leap back and out of range of the flames. _He must have tried to absorb it._

 _And he did not realize that it may prove more difficult to absorb your flames than it would those of an ordinary ninja._ I could swear that Suzaku sounds rather proud of my good fortune. I can't really claim credit for simply being who I am. That is a product of many centuries of power being passed down from one dragon to the next. But I am more than willing to use every power I have to my advantage now.

All of the tension in my tails loosens quite suddenly as the attraction field dissipates. I drop back to the ground, but place Hiro, Kiba, Lee, Neji, and Tenten down gently. "Is everyone alright?"

"Yeah, looks like we're fine. You caught us just in time." Hiro steps towards me and eyes me with interest. "So you got the hang of it, then?"

"Yeah." Mostly, anyway. There's still a few kinks that could use working out, but I'm not going to have time for any of that before the battle is over. So whatever I haven't mastered yet is going to have to wait a while. "Get to Shikamaru, have him team everyone up. As much as I'd like to put Pain down by myself…"

"Until Naruto gets here, you need backup. Gotcha." Hiro makes to jump back, but then he freezes in place. A new sort of smile touches his lips. "I'm with Kiba, Lee, Neji, and Choji on the front line."

"Ino and Shikamaru, huh?" They're the only combination I can think of that would be able to get orders out so quickly. "Done. Separate them if you can, but don't get in over your head."

"Sure thing." He pats me on the shoulder and jumps forward. He coats his arms in thin layers of stone and cracks them together. "Do what you have to."

"I will." I flick my arms, running my crescent moon blades along them. I wait a single heartbeat, then one more.

As expected, the leader of the bunch begins to approach again first. "What sort of power is that?"

"Surprised that one of your corpses can't absorb my flames?" The blank expression on his face almost makes me want to smile. He's not looking to sure of himself anymore. "You've gotten too used to fighting chakra spirits and humans. And while there's one of those inside me and many of the other in my ancestry, I'm a different kind of being entirely."

I take a moment to measure the crater. Thus far, it's taken out…I think three streets of buildings and extends a good two hundred feet across. That should be just enough room to separate them. The rubble crumbled here and there should help to keep the battles from bleeding back into one another without cutting them off entirely. And I'm sure that Shikamaru has already thought about all of this. On the other hand, the battles are all going to center around me, which means…

I smirk off—handedly and leap towards the Pain bodies, my tails moving like lightning as I snatch up the robotic Pain and the summoner and hurl them in opposite directions, and the chubby ninjutsu-sucker off to the far side of the crater. Kakashi can take care of the robot, I'll leave the summoner to Akito and Tenten. The ninjutsu neutralizer is for our front line taijutsu specialists. Which just leaves the leader and the two mysterious bodies. To be fair, fighting three of them is better odds than I could have hoped for the first time we met.

If Shikamaru is thinking along the same lines as me, then I know that it's my signal he's waiting for. "You decided to come here, looking for power that doesn't belong to you, power that could destroy entire nations, and then in search of that power, you went ahead and wreaked havoc in MY territory!" I land back on the ground, giant red, orange, and gold wings flaring out behind me. "You are not welcome here, but it is here that we will fight. And it is here that your murderous crusade will come to an end!"

My boots dig into the dirt, chakra blasting out around them from the metal blades embedded into the soles. It propels me forward fifty feet in an instant and I drive a punch so hard into the long-haired one that I sent him flying like a rag doll for over a hundred feet.

There's barely an instant to catch my breath before the counterattack begins. I sink close to the ground, bending at the knees and shooting myself backwards onto my hands as I spring out of the way of a missile heading in my direction. A tail grabs it and I redirect it at the three Pain bodies still before me. After all, there's no sense in letting a good projectile weapon go to waste.

The blast waves that he pushes back at me smashes into my wings as I fold them over myself, but it merely tosses me away in a tightened protective ball. There will be no mistakes like the last time. I will neither leave my wings vulnerable to attack, nor be scared into not using them. I must simply use them faster. _If you think I didn't learn from the last time, you're dead wrong._

My wings unfold and my hand touches the ground. Immediately behind me, I'm met with the sight of a tangle of taijutsu around the ninjutsu neutralizing Pain. Neji's Gentle Fist weaves in seamlessly with Lee's overt, bone-breaking style, with the both of them making periodic way for Choji, Kiba, and Akamaru to roll and smash all over that third of the battlefield. _Keep at it, you guys. All you need to do is figure out a way to keep that body down._ As gruesome as it is, I think that dismemberment might be the only way to go about this.

Thinking that such a simple concept would be easy to put into practice is the new mistake that I make. Because the moment that the long-haired Pain gets close to me again, a hand held out towards my head, I surge up and grab him by the arms, twisting and pulling and ripping them right from their sockets.

As expected from a dead body, the flow of blood from the wounds is minimal. I would guess that there's enough blood in the bodies to make them move, but not nearly as much as would be needed to sustain living tissue. I toss the arms aside and draw my hands back, then slam them into his stomach, shooting enough chakra into him to turn any living person's organs into scrambled eggs. The blow sends him flying away from me and across the battlefield, just in tie for me to dodge yet another missile, this time with a twin accompanying it.

I glance across the field and pinpoint the reason for the errant missiles. "Fuck…" The main body got away from me while I was dealing with the long-haired one. But before I take more than two steps, lightning erupts in that corner and I stop myself in my tracks. _Alright, Kakashi's got it handled, good. Then that means…_ I turn back around, and suddenly, the big burly one's abilities finally make sense.

Out of a giant demonic mouth steps the one I dismembered earlier, fully recovered. _Well, I suppose that answers the question regarding what order we have to destroy them in._

"CHA!" Sakura's voice rings out above my head, and I groan quietly a moment later when a giant millipede slams down along my path, nearly flattening me under its bulk. _And then a giant millipede crashes down and kicks you in the head. What? You thought this was going to be easy?_ Just once, I wish I could go back to a time when battles made sense.

 _Chick! Behind you!_

I turn on the ball of my foot and clench my fists as a pair of buildings come crashing to the ground right behind where Shino and Hinata are fighting a new arrival who keeps disappearing in a flurry of paper. "Shit." I hadn't accounted for the woman this time.


	55. This is My Home

**So…honestly, I thought that Sakura's behaviour during the Pain Invasion arc was…pathetic and out of character. After all, this is the girl who fearlessly took on Sasori (a ninja about three times her age with ten times her experience, and who had taken out kage-level opponents), knowing that one touch with those weapons could mean certain death. Do I think that she would sit down and cry when Pain attacks? Uh…no? Why would she? She'd be down there trying to pound his face in with all that fiery-hot temper of hers. That said, she's not stupid. So we'll go for something more realistic (because this show is all about realism, right?) and dignified than all-out bawling or all-out brawling, shall we?**

 **Let's see if I can start fixing where Kishi started fucking up, shall we? (Because, let's be real here, he absolutely, positively, unquestionably sucks at developing female characters properly but luckily, I excel at it** **).**

 **Also, people ended up surviving more than in the original fight, though I guess that makes sense given the giant-ass dragon that dropped into the middle of the battle. So…no Kakashi temporary death, is that okay with everybody? I'll just assume it's okay with everybody.**

 **And...I wrote the following five thousand or so words when I really should have been asleep, but I suddenly got a second wind and the ideas just kept coming out. So please enjoy the fruits of my midnight to half past 4 am labour.**

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

Alright, so fighting a duo where one can put the other back together as good as new wasn't on my to do list today. Whatever that demonic-looking thing he summoned was, it's like nothing that I've ever seen before. I'm going to hazard a guess and say that it's probably a technique that they tend to keep hidden, but were forced to use out in the open because of the arrangement of the battle. After all, it's not like I'm about to let any of them get away so that they can regroup. Because it also explains how that mechanical Pain is back in one piece and able to shoot off missiles across the battlefield.

Also, I'm not entirely sure that everyone even saw it. I didn't even notice it until I took a good look around and saw it no more than twenty feet away from me. But no one else seemed to be panicking at the sight of it, so maybe it's just me? Or maybe it's all in my head, as if I could actually be so lucky.

Chakra glows along the blades on my arms as I ready them for a more thorough attack. If ripping their limbs off doesn't work right off the bat, then maybe if I let wind and lightning rip them into tiny little pieces, it'll make them stay dead.

I push myself up off of the ground and stagger away from the giant millipede that Sakura nearly dropped on my head when she crashed it to the ground. At least its head looks pretty cracked. It won't be getting up again, I hope. "Nice entrance, Sakura. I thought you were at the hospital."

"The hospital's been organized. You're going to be too busy fighting, so I thought you guys could use a combat medic." She pulls her gloves tighter on her hands, ready for the fight she's dropped herself into. It's not the smartest place to be, but I can't fault her courage at least.

Well, I was trying to keep to come sort of battle plan, but I suppose that I simply didn't account for Sakura dropping right into the middle of it. But it's better than yet another enemy dropping into the mix. "Go help Hinata and Ino, I can take care of myself here." Honestly, it's everyone else that I'm worried about. If nothing else, Pain needs me alive long enough to suck Suzaku out, which means that I'm the only one here he won't immediately try to kill. That's not really a comfort.

"No, you need someone to watch your back and Naruto's not here yet." I can feel the chakra building up in her fists as a couple more of those millipedes crash across the crater. "So that leaves me, and Sai, whenever he gets here."

"Of course." I don't why I expected anything different. After all, if I've learned anything, it's that in whatever form Squad Seven takes, they never leave their friends to fend for themselves. "…Then go and try to free up Hinata and Ino. I could use the two of them over here as well. Get Shino over to the one who can suck up ninjutsu, maybe he'll have a way to counter the chakra drain."

Sakura glances at me uncertainly, then at the two Pains facing me. "…Can you hold them off for a couple of minutes on your own?"

"Yeah." If it's just two of them, I should have no problem holding them off until I have backup. "Now go!" I put every ounce of authority that I have into my voice and feel Sakura shiver slightly beside me. It's strange, but I pay it no mind as she races off to join another battle happening a ways behind us.

I face down the two pains and hold up one hand, glowing brightly with chakra. "…It seems that this world has forgotten what a dragon is, and what being a dragon means. I think it's time that I remind them."

My feet dig into the ground, and in less than a second, I have the long-haired one on my left and the bulky one on my right, both of them looking to strike me. In the head, in the gut, wherever they can reach. But that half second is all it takes me to slam chakra-filled palms into their chests, taking advantage of being the smallest of us three to find places to reach that they cannot, places to squeeze between them that they can't strike at without getting all tangled up in one another. And so, our dance begins.

Lightning and wind hum along the blades on my arms, growing louder and brighter as I spin about and loose the contained energy into their middles as blunt, powerful shining blades that smash into the both of them like a pair of whirling trees in a hurricane and send them flying in opposite directions across the crater. I'm sure that if it weren't for the chakra in those rods reinforcing their bodies, they would have been ripped in half.

Knowing that the bulky one is going to be the biggest problem, I spring after him first and slam a kick into his back, only for him to roll and dodge at the last second. _Right, shared vision. No sneak attack is going to work here, so counter-attacks are going to have to be enough._ He reaches for my leg and drags my up into the air by my foot. Big mistake.

Without even a hint of warning, I expel a great plume of fire from my mouth, hitting him in the face for just a moment before he releases me and leaps back, his cloak and hair and skin charred by my flames. I smirk with satisfaction at the sight as I drop and land crouching on my toes.

As I get up, however, a hand presses down on my head, an unfamiliar chakra flowing into me, attaching to my own, then pulling at it as though trying to pull my very soul out of my body.

"Ciara! Get away from him now! That's how he killed Shizune!" That's Ino's voice in the background. I hadn't thought that she was paying attention to my fight instead of her own, but I guess maybe Sakura is doing a faster job than I expected. Still, that's good information to know. Perhaps he wants to leave me as a soulless husk with only Suzaku's spirit within me. As if it could actually be that easy.

 _Fine, if he wants to pull energy out, he can go right ahead._ The fine hairs along my arms raise up as my chakra spikes, and the long-haired one whose hand rests in a rather ill-advised place gets a face full of lightning as it arcs along every strand of my hair and into every cell of his dead body. It's still a difficult element for me to control, a naturally wild element. But I suppose if I just allow it to go wild around me, I can negate that problem with my training easily enough. "I'm fine, Ino! Don't worry about me!" It's Hinata and Sakura that she needs to be worrying about right now.

I rise to my feet and glare at the one who thought that he could simply suck out my soul as if I were nothing but a cup of tea easily spilled over. As much as I know that I should allow them to have an unfair measure of my abilities, I cannot stand being underestimated. I am NOT a fragile human.

One strike into the ground with the chakra blades embedded in my boots sends me fifty feet into the air. And from my vantage point there, I can see every battle. In an instant, all of it imprints itself into my eyes.

The woman turning herself to paper to disappear from the midst of the onslaught wrought by Sakura, Shino, Hinata, and Ino. The mechanical man, targeted by Kakashi, Choji, and his father Choza. The summoner, hanging back and weaving the millipedes into battle, even as she summons a twisted bird into the air, a crustacean to the ground, a rhinoceros from far away, an emaciated bull, and a dog with many heads behind it. The two I put on the ground are regrouping. The ninjutsu-sucker surrounded by our taijutsu specialists and trying to evade all of their blows from the Neji's precise and deadly Gentle Fist, to Kiba and Akamaru whirling about like typhoons, and down to Lee's crushing blows. Finally, there's their leader hanging back, as if surveying the battle is all that he plans to do now.

He is the key, I just know it. If I can get him away from here, the others will follow us. If I can get him away from the city center and towards the open training fields, it will give us more room to maneuver and lessen the destruction here.

But that will have to wait. The mechanical one doesn't even turn towards me, but I can feel the moment that he fires those missiles at me, shooting through the air towards me. I pull shuriken from my pouch, knowing that ordinarily, they would be no match for projectiles of such power. But mine have power too. A flick of my fingers imbues them with wind, creating a number of spinning saw blades that I hurl through the air, spinning over and over like the out of control discs they are meant to resemble, and yet fully under the control of my chakra.

As the first wave of missiles explode in the skies over the battlefield, a second wave of missiles come. But they're intercepted immediately by a barrage of kunai carrying explosive tags, setting off a chain of even more powerful explosions that blast shockwaves through the air and nearly knock me out of the sky.

"Sorry!" I look down to see Tenten grinning up at me, one of her scrolls out and emptied of weapons. "But watch out up there, you nearly got nailed!" As if she somehow didn't almost get nailed by a flurry of paper shuriken when Sakura and Hinata charged at the blue-haired woman from opposite sides, two chakra-powered hands slamming into her at equally ferocious speeds.

Still, the expression on her face almost makes me smile. I choose to huff instead and land on the roof of a nearby building, before launching myself back into the air. "Got it!" Ad for good measure, I fill my mouth and hands with chakra, spitting out a barrage of water bullets infused to the core with sparking lightning. If I've learned anything about that mechanical one during this battle, it's that he really doesn't do well with lightning.

The bullets barely have the time needed to strike before I turn my attention to the woman and blow a ball of fire to finish driving her off. The swirl of paper rises into the air and whirls into a tornado, disappearing from sight. I don't know where she's going, nor do I care right now. As long as she's nowhere near the people I care for, I'm fine with her taking a hike.

My eyes narrow as I watch the summons trundle off, sowing ever more destruction throughout the city. I hope that the evacuations proceeded on schedule, or we're going to find a lot of bodies in those crumbling buildings. _I hope that the civilians got out alright…_

 _I know, Chick, but for now you must focus on the battle at hand. For more will be hurt if you lose that focus._

 _I know._ I can't afford to let myself be distracted now. There is a battle raging around me, and I'm one of the ones they're after. It would be wrong to leave the fighting to others when this battle is mine and Naruto's alone.

My gaze turns on him once more, the leader, the one who brought this destruction to my village. Or at least, he appears to the the corpse in charge. _But where is his puppetmaster?_

The real one's not among them. That's what the message from Jiraiya said. These six are corpses, and chakra can only come from a living person, so far as I know. I seem to recall overhearing something earlier, spoken by Ino to Shikamaru. Something about chakra receivers in their bodies. Those black rods. If that's right, then that's how they're being controlled. To get to the puppetmaster, we must first fight through the puppets. And so, I turn my power on their battlefield commander, the young-looking one with the spiky orange hair.

A single slice of my hand through the air sends a sharp blade of wind screaming at his face. But he's easily the fastest of the lot, dodging it by a hair and leaping through the air away from me and landing on another pile of rubble. "Impertinent child."

"Impertinent?" I can't believe his gall. "You call me impertinent when it is MY home that you come to destroy? When it is MY friends and family you threaten? When it is MY territory that you have tainted with the blood of MY people?" I land on a pile opposite him and glare coldly, despite the fire racing through my veins. "Impertinent, impatient, you can call me what you like. But it does not change that you are a murderer here in my home. You have rampaged and destroyed and killed in your quest for power, like so many tyrants before you."

"A tyrant, you say? Foolish child, I am a god, here to bring pain to this world so that it might learn, so that it might grow, so that this cycle of war will come to an end." It's sickening how convinced he sounds of his own words. "You merely fight against destiny."

"For now, I do." Because I know how I'm to die. But I am going to be the one who decides on how I get there. "You call yourself Pain, but you don't understand it at all. You've felt it, that much is obvious, but you never grew from it. So how exactly do you plan on making the world grow from it if you never did?"

"So says a foolish child who hasn't felt such pain." Oh, if he only knew… He raises a hand and allows it to glow every so slightly with chakra, warping the world around it. "Now go." His fingers flick towards me and a blast wave slams into me.

I fly through the air, losing my bearing for a moment, before regaining them and flipping head over heels until I land on my feet and skid across the rocky ground. But the moment I look back up at him, something feels wrong. The Pains begin to retreat from their battles, falling back and disappearing into thin air. What's going on?

"Ciara Shiryugu!" Two figures land behind me on a ruined building and I can feel their eyes on me from behind their ANBU masks. "You are to come with us immediately. We have orders to evacuate you."

"Evacuate me?" Who the hell would order that? I doubt it would be Tsunade. She knows me too well to possibly think that I would just retreat from the battle when there are people for me to protect. "And just who gave that pointless order?"

"We are not at liberty to say. Your orders are to come with us. We will use force to evacuate you if we must." I can't believe this. They must be absolute morons.

I focus my attention back on the Pain drifting up into the sky above our heads and roll my shoulders, ready to fly up after him. "Your request is denied. Please convey my heartfelt apologies to whoever sent you, but they're mad if they think I'm leaving now."

The two of them land on either side of me. Big mistake. "You are to come with us now, Jinchuuriki."

Ah, so that's what they're after. Now I think I knew who sent them. "Hiro! Akito!" I stride away from the two and pull my arms from their grip as they foolishly try to reach for me. "Escort these idiots away, I have no time for dealing with them." My wings flutter anxiously in anticipation as my eyesight zooms in on the one rising ever higher above the village. _That can't be good._

My teammates appear by my sides, getting between me and these ANBU that I suspect aren't working for the Hokage. Akito frowns slightly, then nods. "On it."

But as I step forward, ready to fly, figures arrive all around us, some injured, some looking a little fresher. Jounin, from the looks of it, as well as a number of chunin, all ready for battle. They're a little late, but better late than never.

Hinata races towards me, followed by Neji, Sakura, and one that I can only assume is a cousin of theirs from the side branch of the family. "Ciara, what's happened?"

"I don't know yet, but I don't like it." I'm more durable than most of the others here. No matter what Pain does, I'm sure that it won't be enough to kill me. But they're known for taking jinchuuriki half dead back to their headquarters. That's what they did with me the first time, before I was able to recover. "Everyone needs to regroup, now. I'm going to go up there and find out what's going on."

"Are you sure that's wise? Whatever he's up to, it might kill you." Neji's gaze is steady and calm. Mostly. I can detect only a flicker of anxiety behind the cool, controlled demeanor.

"It won't." That much, I know for certain. "They might try to drag me half-dead back to one of their hide-outs again, but they won't outright kill me." I'm safe enough in that knowledge. "But I can't say the same for everyone else. It would take a lot more to kill me than anyone else here. So fall back until I give a signal to advance. Understood?"

I know that I have no actual authority over him, seeing as he too is a jounin, but as his gaze bores into mine, he acquiesces. "Very well, we'll await a signal."

I glance next at Kakashi, covered in blood but still just standing, and a single look from him tells me that he heard my words as well. He raises his hand and signals the gathered ninja to fall back. Which is just as well. It looks like they've been rather busy lately. Pain must have wreaked so much havoc before I got here. I should have gotten here sooner…

But there's no time to dwell on that now. I leap away from the gathering ninja, and the two ANBU now struggling against Hiro's firm grip as he marches them away. I look back at Akito, who steps up to my side without compunction. "What's your plan, Cia?"

"My plan?" Honestly, I wish I could say that I had an elaborate plan. But clearly, that's not going to work with Pain. It looks like this is either going to be a battle of attrition, or a battle to see whose ultimate jutsu can destroy the most. I honestly don;t know which prospect is worse. "My plan is not to die, and not to let any of you die either."

Akito huffs quietly, and I'm pretty sure that if I looked again, I would see a smile on his face. "I can get behind that plan."

"Yeah." But whatever Pain's plan is, the moment he raises his hands, goosebumps erupt across my body. "Akito, hold the fort." I roll my shoulders and my wings and tails slowly dissolve into flames, disappearing into nothingness with every passing second.

His eyes widen and he quickly wraps one arm around my waist, maneuvering carefully around my receding wings. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." My body starts to glow, growing brighter and brighter as a ball of light appears between Pain's hand, growing brighter just as I am, larger, falling down towards the ground as it expands in size and glows with almost blinding brightness.

The moment it hits the ground and the sounds of an explosion reach my ears, I expel my spirit from my body in a panic, leaping out of it and racing into the sky, growing larger and brighter as well as my tail and claws reach out before me. The dome is ripping up the ground below me, creating a crater that vaporises the ground and pushes back dozens, hundreds of buildings as the blast wave spreads out in a uniform circle from the center of the village.

The place, my village, the one where I was born and have grown up…and Pain is trying to reduce it to rubble.

The screams and shouts of the shinobi below me echo through the air, tearing at my ears and my heart. And it is their voices that tell me precisely what I must do.

My ethereal body undulates through the air, growing larger as I plunge towards the growing dome. I resist the urge to smack Pain out of the air and choose to focus solely on the bubble of destruction as I lengthen and expand as much as I can, spreading out the particles of my chakra in as thin and long a line as I can while still retaining enough cohesion to keep them all linked together. And it is this elongated form that I use to wrap myself and all of my power around the expanding bubble, meeting it and folding myself in a ring around it to squeeze it tight. The power slams against me, but I hold firm, despite all of the chakra in my spirit screaming for me to release my hold.

But I will not release my hold. Not now, and not until this danger has passed. I will hold it back, no matter how impossible it might seem.

* * *

Sakura's P.O.V.

Katsuyu expels me from her body, a protective measure against the blast wave that nearly rolled right over us when Pain unleashed that…attack. Choji mentioned that one of the Pains could attract and repel things like a magnet, whether it be people or ninjutsu or objects. But I didn't think that this was the sort of devastation it could cause.

And not just the devastation, but the lack of it as well. "No way…" I can't believe my eyes. That ninjutsu is massive, powerful enough to destroy almost a third of the village outright, then shove the rubble onto another third, and yet, there at the epicenter, a giant dragon is loped around it, holding it back from expanding any further.

"That's impossible…" Kiba breathes hard in front of me, his hand pressed to his chest where several of his ribs are cracked. "There's no way that anyone should be able to hold that back."

And yet…she is. Despite the devastation, I almost want to smile. "But she is. We really need to stop underestimating those two…" I kneel beside him and press a hand lightly to Kiba's chest to work on the cracked bones there. I think one might be fractured, but it doesn't seem to have punctured a lung. That's good.

"Yeah, no kidding…" I still don't think he really believes what he sees out there, what we're all seeing. It really is unbelievable that after all of the devastation he caused, he could be stopped in his tracks like that. And I saw the first wave of the attack, I saw how the six Pains and that blue-haired woman just swept into the village and started tearing it apart with those blast waves and summons and the missiles that they fired all over the place. Their attacks were not subtle, and the village…so much of it is in ruins now.

The battle of push and resistance goes on and one, the seconds stretching into minutes. But slowly, the blast begins to dim and die, and the giant form holding it in check begins to shrink and unravel itself from around the blast as it implodes. The dragon glows brightly once, then twice, before almost disappearing entirely as Ciara shrinks down inside the clouds of smoke and dust. There's just no way to see her anymore. Not without… "Neji, Hinata!"

"Yes." Neji's gaze darts through the clouds as he blinks rapidly to keep the dust from settling in his eyes. "She's there, human-sized again. It seems that what she did took a great deal of chakra, but she still shines brightly with it."

"How much chakra does she have left?" If she's running low, then I'll give some chakra pills to her. I still have some of the ones I made myself. They might not taste very good, I still haven't managed to create a recipe that does, but they'll pick her up once she's back in her body. Would the pills even work on her when she's this way? I doubt it, but I guess it would be best to ask her.

Neji goes silent for a moment, then shakes his head. "No, I think she's fine. She still has a greater amount of chakra than anyone here. The reserve that she has when she takes on that form seems to be…at least five times greater than any of ours."

"Five times…?" I think…that the only time I heard a figure like that was when Kakashi-Sensei was comparing Naruto's chakra reserves to his own. Something about how Naruto just naturally has more chakra than a jounin, even when he was still a kid. It looks like some people are just born with more of it than the rest of us.

I glance at Akito, holding her body close to his chest even as Katsuyu expels the two of them as well. "How is she?"

He looks back at me, then down at her as if to reassure himself. "She's fine. She's just not home right now."

"Yeah, I think we all saw that." I mean, I've known for a while that she's been working on it. Ever since Naruto left, she's been pushing herself to achieve this. But still, seeing it in battle is just…something else. "Now what?"

He gets to his feet and adjusts her body in his arms. "Now, I bring my lady her body."

Right. I don't know how long she can stay out of it, but I doubt that she can do it forever. I mean, her chakra has to run out at some point. And if it's anything like any of Ino's secret ninjutsu, then there has to be a time limit on it. Maybe she can make the time limit longer with practice, but she hasn't been practicing for long. There's no way she can keep holding it. "Go on, then. And make sure she's okay."

He smiles wryly for a moment. "I will." Then his smile faces and he jumps onto a new pile of rubble and off into the dust and smoke.

I have a bad feeling about this, but right now…I don't know if there's anything we can do right now. Not against someone who wields as much power as Pain. We would need an opening, and we just haven't had it. _Naruto, where are you? Can't you see that we need you for this battle?_

I bite my lip and close my eyes for a second. No, we can't just rely on Naruto now. He's strong, but he's not the only ninja in this village. _This isn't just his home. This village is ours, and we have to fight for it._

My chakra flows faster as I pour it into Kiba's bones and seal them back in place. "There, you should be fine now, just try to avoid taking any more hits to your ribs."

"Yeah, sure." Kiba winces as he gets to his feet, but the pain in his face fades as he stretches his muscles out.

He's done, so I stride on over to Kakashi-Sensei to treat his wounds next. "Sensei…" Exhaustion, pulled muscles, contusions and abrasions all over… And then there's that Sharingan of his. "Are you trying to end up in the hospital again, Sensei?"

"Ah…Sakura." I know he's going to be okay if he sounds exasperated with me. He may be messed up and going to need bed rest for at least a week, but he's alive…and that's what matters.

We're alive. I'm sure that there were dozens, if now hundreds who died in that blast, but…as selfish as it is…at least the people here are still alive. I think…I know what she means now, about needing to protect people. If the people here had died…I don't know what I'd do. But we almost did. And there's no way that Ciara is just going to let that pass.

 _Naruto…hurry home… We need you._ If he and Ciara can go toe to toe with Pain, then the rest of us might be able to rally and organize a counter-strike for them. _Dammit, she needs you to fight with her too. So get your ass back here right now, you idiot!_


	56. The Many Pains of Battle

**Happy New Year's everybody! I hope that everyone is getting a good start to 2019. And just to make the start of your year a little better, I present to you...well, honestly, the people starring in this chapter should all be dead by now. But they're not, so it's on with the show. Here's essentially the rest of the fighting sequence for this arc.**

 **This one turned out to be a lot longer than I expected it to. The battle sequences also turned out better than I thought they would. So basically, this chapter is just going to be on and off battle with some philosophy and strategy mixed in there somewhere. We're also going to get a hint of stupidity from Hinata, like in canon, but I'm mixing it with a little strategy as well, and next chapter…well, I'm going to be tackling it a little differently than you might expect. But we will soon be getting into the juicy stuff, I promise.**

 **This chapter is all one scene and done entirely from Ciara's POV throughout the various battle sequences. So, please enjoy this verbal vomit of insanity.**

* * *

The worst thing about waking up again in my own body is the silence. That awful silence that has no place being part of the village.

"Akito…" I reach up and press my hand to his arm as I sit up, then I glance into his gray eyes to see a grim understanding there. "…Go back to the others. They're going to need you for coming up with a plan." If that's even possible. But with an enemy who wields power on this scale…I don't know if that's possible. If we're going to win…it might just end up being through brute force.

 _Damn it, Naruto, where are you!? You should have been back by now!_ It's never taken this long for the toads to get a message around before. _Something must have happened to Kosuke._ He's the messenger who's usually sent on the missions requiring the most speed. Surely he's the one who would have been tasked with a mission relaying this sort of information.

Akito's fingers twitch against my back and my knees, still placed there from carrying my body to me. "How long do you think you can hold out on your own?"

"Not sure." I brace myself and slowly start rising to my feet. "But it'll be as long as I have to." I won't fall the way I did the last time and leave them open like I did Utakata.

He gets to his feet behind me and squeezes my shoulder tightly. "If it looks like you're going to die out here, Hiro and I aren't just going to sit back and watch."

"I know." It's not like I could expect any less of them. "But don't come rushing in recklessly unless it looks like I really can't handle it out here." I wouldn't want them to risk their lives for me like that if there was still a chance that I could turn it around. "Now get out of here. I'll scream if I need you."

"Got it." He closes his eyes and presses his forehead against mine. "Just don't die."

"I won't." I close my eyes for a moment, then open them again as the pressure disappears and he vanishes into the clouds of dust and smoke filling the crater.

And for a moment, I am completely alone.

Then the dust settles around me and six figures land in the crater. _At least that woman isn't with them as well._ Not that it would make much of a difference having seven opponents instead of six. It was wrong to have my friends try to help me with this battle. It's just…not a battle for regular ninja to take part in. And it makes me rather glad that Sasuke isn't here. If he was…I hate to think what reckless things he might do.

But he's not, and I'm on my own. So I allow my hands to rise up before me, filled with chakra and prepared to strike hard, fast, and with blazing fury. It's about the only thing that might actually stop them right now. First, the burly one needs to be put down, then the summoner. After that…I suppose it doesn't really matter what order I pick them off in

The moment that I take a step towards these six corpses that make up the menace that is Pain, the air thickens around me, crackling with power. Then a giant force crashes into the ground behind me, followed by a second, and then a third.

When I chance a glance over my shoulder, I find myself sighing with relief. "You're here…" And here I'd feared I might have to fight them alone. "What took you so long?"

Golden eyes instead of blue ones look down at me, confusion forming within them. "Ciara? What's going on?"

There's not much time to waste, so I jump high into the sky and flip head over heels to land on Gamakichi's back, just behind Naruto. "Akatsuki attack, Pain loosed a ninjutsu and caused this crater, we got hammered by it, I tried to stop it, and there's six of them to fight through to get to the one pulling their strings." I think that covers just about everything that he needs to know. "They started their attack a couple of hours ago, I think. They've been fighting their way through the village…looking for us."

Naruto's mouth thins into a tight line as he glances back at me, then down at the six Pains gathered below. "…And that's why he tried to destroy the whole village?"

"…Yes." I did my best to try and stop the blast wave before it could destroy the entire village, but even I could only do so much to stop it with so little notice. "I've never seen destruction on this scale before…" It makes me sick, makes me want to scream and cry. But I can't. No, right now, I need to keep myself focused on the foe before us. This enemy cannot be allowed to wreak further destruction. What's already happened can't be changed, but we can at least stop the Akatsuki from killing any more people.

"…Hey, can you clear the battlefield?" I can hear the tightness in Naruto's voice as he makes that request of me. A battlefield, that's all this crater is now. No longer is it the neighborhoods and parks that we remember. Just a giant pit in the earth.

"Yeah." I can do that much. I take a breath, holding it long and deep in my chest as I infuse it with a thunderstorm's worth of energy. Then I breath it out in a steady, whirling stream that wraps around us and pushes outward, blowing away all of the dust and smoke hanging in the air. I clear the field, revealing all six of our opponents. "…So, you got a new power, then?"

"Mhm. It's called Sage Mode." Naruto clenches his fist and I can feel the difference in his energy, in the way that he draws it in instead of letting it whirl out of him. It feels almost like a flow of water into him, rather than the winds gusting out.

"I hope it's stronger than anything else you've got, because I need backup." And as strong as Naruto is, I don't think his old tricks are going to work very well here.

"It is." He glares down at the field as Pain's leader approaches. "What's with these guys?"

"There's six of them, each with their own unique ability. One can fix the others and bring them back to life, sort of. He needs to be taken out first if we're going to have any hope of ending this battle." Otherwise it would just go on forever. "The girl is the summoner, she'll need to go down second. The third that we need to worry about is the bald one, he's got a mechanical body and can shoot off wide-range attacks that are extremely difficult to dodge. If we can get him down second instead of the summoner, that's fine." Once we do that, we'll have eliminated half the field, as well as the ones with the greatest range, short of the leader who let off that huge blast. "After that, we can just pick and choose, I think. The last three are one who absorbs ninjutsu, one who can suck out souls, and their leader, the one with the blast wave magnetic repulsion and attraction ability."

"That was that one…wasn't it." Naruto glares down at the slim, spiky-haired one who can't have been more than ten years older than us when he died, the one with all the piercings in his nose.

"Yeah, that's him." I just hope that fact won't distract Naruto from the battle at hand. "Gamabunta, do you think that the three of you can hold off any summons that get thrown at us while we pick off the problem Pains first?"

"Of course." Gamabunta grumbles almost like he's offended. "What do you take us for? We can handle a few measly summons." Okay, definitely offended, but it's going to be a lot more than just a few measly summons, if that selection earlier was anything to go by.

Still, it's a good sign that the toads aren't shirking from this battle. I honestly wouldn't blame them if they did. "Alright. Naruto, do you think that you can take out the burly one while I put down the summoner?" She seemed to be the faster of the two, so I think it's best if we split up the tasks based on our own aptitudes. Divide and conquer. And honestly, out of the six of them, only five actually seem dangerous to the two of us.

"Yeah." Naruto's voice remains tight for a moment, before he starts in surprise as none other than Tsunade lands on the battlefield in front of us.

 _Shit…_ she looks like she's been put through the wringer. "I…am the Fifth…Hokage." She sounds like it too, much to the dismay of the ANBU who accompanies her. "How dare you…how dare you trample on the jewel…the dreams of my predecessors? I won't forgive you! I'll settle this now as Hokage!" _Double shit…_ _There's nothing you can do, Tsunade…_ Even from here, I can see that her chakra is drained almost to nothing. She's spent too much chakra protecting and healing…there's no way she can fight this battle. She would just die. It's suicide.

Pain watches her from a mere thirty feet away, but his voice is loud and clear in the ensuing silence of the battlefield. "It appears you understand a little about pain. However, I have no need of you right now. The one I seek-"

Even as the mechanical Pain begins to fly with weapons reaching out towards Tsunade, I can sense Naruto already moving. Well now…he's gotten quite a bit faster. Intrigued, I sit back and let him fly out onto the battlefield, and I watch him crash down on top of the mechanical Pain, shattering him into many pieces. _A bit out of order, but as long as we can take out the revival specialist next, we should be fine._

I pat Gamakichi on the head and hold on tight to his collar. "Can you take Tsunade and get her away from the battlefield, Gamakichi?"

"Yeah, no problem, kid." The almost happy lilt to his voice makes me smile. That's something that he definitely never fails at. He shifts on his back legs and leaps high into the sky. The weightless feeling of falling back to the ground isn't something I'm particularly accustomed to, that's Naruto's thing, but I'm no stranger to it either. So it only slightly knocks the wind out of me when we land.

I slide off his back and drop down beside Naruto, almost kneeling as I dig my feet into the dirt. "Gamakichi will get them out of range."

"Good." Naruto doesn't even glance back, all of his attention focused on Pain. "We'll take it over from here on out. Keep the rest of the village out of this. I can only be worrying about one person during this fight."

"You know that street goes both ways, Naruto." I'm hardly helpless, despite how poorly this battle has been going.

"Yeah, I know." He smiles grimly at me. "You ready?"

"To go into battle with you as my partner?" Does he really feel like he needs to ask that question. "Always."

The rhinoceros pops back out of nowhere and starts charging towards us, but Naruto is almost entirely unmoved. "Then go."

"Yeah." I dodge entirely around the rhino, then past the bull and dog that come charging out of the next summoning diagrams. A powerful genjutsu slams into them from behind me as I weave through the tangle of legs, completely unaffected by the genjutsu myself.

My eyes heat and throw the world into that familiar wash of vivid colors as I weave forward, bolstered by the sound of Naruto charging in behind me. He'll watch my back while we split the Pains up and put them down one by one.

But as I close in on the Pains, the ninjutsu-sucker lands in front of me, clearly intent on stopping my attack. Not that that worked out so well for them the last time. And behind him, the others scatter, clearly trying to stay out of close range with me. It's rather ironic, I think, for them to be so afraid of closing the distance with someone whose taijutsu used to be their weakest point. Not that I can blame them for their caution now.

 _…Uncle Shisui…if you are with the ancestors and watching over me…please let this work._ I step forward, taking that step right within this Pain's reach, then flicker right out of sight while the sounds of the toads battling the summons echoes on behind me.

I land precisely in front of the summoner as the sound of Naruto's racing footsteps stop and turn into the pattern of a battle dance. Hand to hand combat. _Watch out for that one, Naruto, that one is one of the most dangerous._ Not that they're not all dangerous, but I do feel the need to prioritize them. Still, with the summoner right before me and making signs, I take a step forward and drive my hand right through her chest, expelling a massive wave of chakra from it as I blow her ribcage to pieces. It's more than a little gross, what with all of the dead, yet still living flesh spattering over me, but I would take on worse if it meant protecting Naruto.

Since I don't trust that she won't get repaired, I pull her body back with me and drop it onto the mechanical Pain's body, well away from their comrade who could revive them. And while I was busy dealing with her, it looks like Naruto put the ninjutsu-sucker on the ground. I doubt he'll stay down, but at least we have a little time now. Two down, one down for now, that leaves three of them left standing. And the leader still hasn't unleashed another of those devastating attacks. Looks like the interval grows with the power of the jutsu. Good to know. It's too bad that we won't be able to figure out the interval until it's too late, but at least it's bought us time so far.

The lead Pain glares at us slightly, this one showing a touch more emotion than any of the others. The other bodies…they all seem to have their expressions frozen. I wonder why. _What makes this Pain so special apart from his power?_

Naruto creates a couple of clones and starts gathering chakra all around him. "Hey, Ciara, sit back, I'm going to use my trump card."

I glance sharply at Naruto, knowing all too well what he could mean by those words. "You know what that does to you."

"I know, Sage Mode is my way around it." Now that little declaration definitely has my attention. I hadn't known that there was a state of being that could offset the massive damage incurred by the Rasenshuriken.

But if he's sure… "Alright." I leap back and take up a defensive position behind him, ready to spring back into action at a moment's notice. Because as durable as I am now, taking one of those point blank is definitely not on my list of ninjutsu that I feel like taking in the face.

"I see…so you've become a sage." But now, Pain looks decidedly unimpressed. "Then you've mastered the same jutsu as Jiraiya-Sensei." And…those words send an icy chill through my bones. _…Sensei…?_

"Jiraiya? You…called him Sensei?" Naruto's shock is evident on his face.

"That's right, I also learned jutsu from Jiraiya. He was once my master as well." And just like that, every word that comes out of this man's mouth stuns me speechless. He killed the man that he once called sensei. This almost feels like Utakata all over again. Except…Utakata was ignorant, and relatively innocent in that affair. His master made a mistake, not expecting the consequences. Or perhaps knowing them, but believing in the impossible anyway.

This is wrong, so wrong. "And that makes us sibling students. Sharing the same sensei, we ought to be able to understand each other. Our master desired peace."

 _Peace…he says peace… How is this peace? This is only pain. And while there is pain, there can be no peace._ I know that all too well. For while there is pain in the soul, there can be no true peace in the heart. And if there is not peace in the heart, there can be no peace in the world. I know that in order to find peace, one must let go of pain. Or so an ancestor of mine wrote on the wall in my family hall containing the wisdom of the ages. And I know it to be true, for it rings in my bones, in my blood, in my heart, and in my soul. For I still seek that peace within myself, and it will not be within my grasp until there is no longer pain festering deep in my heart.

"Just shut the hell up already!" Naruto gathers the chakra in his palm, and the screaming whirl of the Rasenshuriken fills the air. "Everything you've done here…all this destruction…what part of all that is peaceful!?"

Pain almost huffs with impatience. "You simply cannot see the forest for the trees. You're not able to comprehend the true meaning of peace, or what I'm trying to accomplish." His voice softens, but grows empty and cold. "Just let yourselves be captured. Surrender, and your deaths will lead to peace."

"I already told you to shut the hell up!" Naruto flicks his wrist and whips his arm forward, hurling the giant spinning shuriken forward so hard that it kicks up a whole trail of dust in its wake.

Two of the Pains manage to get away, the leader and the bulky one who could still revive the others. We're taking them out in the reverse order to what I'd have liked, but at least the long-haired one gets caught in the blast set off by Naruto's newly honed ninjutsu. "I can see why you didn't want to throw that with me in the firing range." I think…that might actually be able to kill me.

Naruto and I leap far away from it, but the gusts of wind from the blast rocket out in all directions for hundreds of meters. I glance back and curse silently as I note that the summoning jutsu for the dog wasn't undone with the female's death. Not that it's much of a surprise. If the Pains all get their ninjutsu from one central puppetmaster, then I can understand why it wouldn't be undone nearly so easily. And then there's that bird still flying in the air from before. _Shit._ And the dogs are multiplying.

"Ciara, take care of that one up in the sky, I'll handle things down here until you get back." Naruto steps directly between me and the Pains. "Hurry, before it attacks the rest of the village."

"Alright." I roll my shoulders and feel the familiar heat of wings bursting from my back. I'm sure to others, it must look like an unpleasant transformation. And while it feels pretty odd, it doesn't hurt me at all. "Don't you dare die down here without me to save you." I jump back and bend my knees, springing into the sky the moment I hear him huff out an agreement.

I fly high into the sky, drawing the attention of the summon above the battlefield. _Good, now let's play follow the leader, shall we?_ From what I saw of those dogs, cutting them to pieces just makes them multiply. So, when that fails, I have another method for dealing with problems.

The winds gust around me, providing all the maneuverability I need to dodge the enormous beak trying to snap me up like a snack. I am NOT going to be some twisted bird summon's snack. So I turn up sharply and pull my wings back to use them as a windbreak. The bird flies right past me, giving me ample opportunity to get on top of it and attach myself to its head and I shoot chakra into it with my feet to guide it towards the dogs giving our toad friends a hard time. A really hard time, by the looks of it.

"Jump back, now!" I can't have them within my firing range if this is going to work, otherwise it won't just be the bird and dogs I destroy.

Gamabunta, Gamaken, and Gamahiro heed my words and take flying leaps back through the air as I plunge the bird down and fill my mouth and lung with fire. The moment the bird smashes into the ground, I unleash the raging torrent, covering a full three hundred meters in every direction with a flood of white flames. When cutting won't work, turning them all to ash just might. For there is nothing but family that can survive a dragon's flames.

The dogs yowl and the bird shrieks as the flames consume them. The flames rise up around me, warm and comforting, but not leaving a single mark on me. I turn my burning gaze onto Naruto, the flames of my anger shining as brightly as the stars. "Naruto!"

"Stay back!" He's normal again, he's lost the Sage Mode that he was talking about. I can see it in the way the air moves around him.

"But Naruto, you're-" I can't just let him go into battle like that without me, so I sprint towards him.

Only to stop in my tracks when he holds up a hand to wave me off. "I know, I'm going back into Sage Mode, so stay back!"

He's…what? I don;t know the specifics of Sage Mode, but it's strong enough that I get the feeling that it's not something that can just be turned on and off like a light-switch. "Are you sure!?"

"Yeah!" He ducks and dodges Pain's attacks, the two of them engaging in hand to hand combat. _I guess he must not be recharged all the way after nearly blowing the village to bits._

But it all makes sense the moment that Fukasaku reverse summons a clone that Naruto must have left behind on the mountain, one whose chakra is still I that same Sage Mode. And I have to admit that the moment Pain's chakra rod shatters is a satisfying one. And the screaming wail of the next Rasenshuriken is a good one too. Until it gets absorbed by the ninjustu-sucker, who's now back on his feet. Of course, that was the one who wasn't part of the pile that the bulky one couldn't get to.

 _Alright…take two._ I'm sure that I can leave it to Naruto to create a distraction for me. Because the moment that he transforms into his new signature ninjutsu that flies through the air and kicks up a huge cloud of dust, I flicker right back out of sight and fly right through the air. My wing's disappear mid-flight, leaving me the chance to do to that Pain exactly what I did to Tobi or Madara or whatever that one called himself.

I slam down on top of him at lightning speed, flooding the dead body with chakra and blasting everything withing him to pieces. It's neither the nicest or the prettiest application of medical ninjutsu, but it gets the job done when he doesn't get back up. I look up and pant heavily, then smirk slightly at Pain and his utter shock. "Thermal vision. I can see all those chakra rods sticking out of your corpses. They're hotter than the rest of the bodies you've stuck them into."

"Tricky bastard!" Finally, that ninjustu-sucker pipes up, and his voice is definitely…guttural.

"You can't dodge this one!" But Naruto grins, knowing full well that I can.

I shoot straight up into the air, the chakra around my boots propelling me up and backwards, away from the target of the latest Rasenshuriken. But the moment it dissipates, I curse under my breath. _Of course his powers come back now. Alright, let's try something else, then. There's only two of them left and now they can't replenish their numbers._ Finally, it really feels like we can do this.

But in the split second it takes for me to start closing the gap, that familiar sensation of weightlessness hits me, only this time, it's propelling itself outward.

The power of the jutsu hurls me across the ground, rolling me over and over as I try to find my footing again. Only I'm rather glad that it takes me more than a minute, because Gamahiro goes flying over my head and nearly crushes me as he soars up and out of the village and into a nearly lake. _Well, shit._ And I don;t know if I have the focus and stamina needed to pull off pushing my spirit out of my body again. I've done it twice in less than two hours, and that was hard enough. Asking for a third time so soon is just…

In the instant that I take to close my eyes, Pain's ninjutsu-sucker catches hold of Naruto. But the fluctuations in the chakra are…strange. Naruto's sage chakra is seeping into the Pain body as quickly as he can gather it, and it's like…almost like a poison. I get to my feet as the Pain begins to bloat and turn to stone. _Not sure how you did it, Naruto, but that works._ He takes a second to break himself out of the stone hold, and I take in a deep breath.

I see the action just before it happens, the fluctuations of chakra in the air, just like before. Only this time, I know where it's being aimed, and I know where it's going. Fukasaku rises up from the ground and hurtles towards Pain, pulled in by that attractive force. Too bad for Pain that Naruto isn't alone out here.

With four tails to anchor me to the ground, two more shoot out to wrap around Fukasaku and drag him out of the way of the chakra rod that very nearly pierces his body. My tails pull him immediately into my arms, and another tail reaches out to pick up Shima as well.

"Nice catch, Little One." Fukasaku sighs with relief as I cradle him in my arms.

"Pa!" Shima burrows into my arms alongside her husband. "Oh, thank you…thank you…"

"Don't thank me just yet." I put the two of them down as my eyes widen in horror. With a mere wave of Pain's hand, Naruto slams into the ground and Pain pierces right through his hands with one of those chakra rods. "…Both of you, run now. Get as far away as you can."

"But Ciara…child, you-" Shima sounds as though she really doesn't want to leave. But there's no choice. If they're going to have any shot at unleashing whatever they had planned, they need to book it out of Pain's range and fast.

"NOW!" I can already feel him charging up his power, ready to try and pull me in. And though it takes a moment, the two elderly toads hop away behind me as I glare up at Pain. I take in a deep breath, readying the words on my tongue as I prepare a song of my own. I do think that they said something about genjutsu. Well, they're not the only ones who can do that.

"It seems that I have tamed the Nine-Tails." He materializes another of those chakra rods from his sleeve. "It's your turn, Ten-Tails." He raises a hand and the pull begins, tugging me harshly towards him even as my tails remain anchored in the ground. His power lifts me off my feet, but I keep myself focused. And it's a good thing, too, otherwise the first rod he shoots at me would have impaled me. When he shoots the second, I roll out of the way of that one as well. Then the third, then the fourth.

For just a moment, frustration shows in his eyes at my refusal to just give up and submit to his games. He may be strong, but I refuse to be easy prey.

So I let go. When the force becomes almost too much, I let go and let myself fly towards him. His fifth rod impales me cleanly through the stomach and I can feel my spleen rupture. That'll hurt for a while, but I can heal that easily enough, it won't kill me. But what it's done is it has give me the opportunity to tackle him to the ground and force the rod deeper into my flesh, closing the distance between us as I heave an earth-shattering punch at his face.

The chakra spike with the rod makes me flinch, and I just barely miss smashing his face in. He glares up at me coldly. "And I suppose that you would also kill me for what I've done here, like your friend has professed to me."

"No." Chakra lances through me, blurring my vision for a moment as my own chakra goes a little haywire. "I would destroy you to prevent you from killing anyone else here. Revenge solves nothing. Revenge means that you are living in the past when it's the future that matters!" I breathe hard, trying my best to conserve chakra even as it's forced to leak out at the seams. _Chick…this rod…interfering…chakra transmission…_

I know that, I can feel it. And so close to the center of my seal, I can feel the havoc that it's wreaking on my chakra network. I hadn't expected it to be this bad, but still…I keep heaving punches at him, scoring I think two hits straight to his face before he flips me over and drive a spike through each of my shoulders.

 _Fuck…that hurts._

"You are an ignorant child." He stabs another rod through my left thigh. "You speak as though you know of justice and revenge, and yet you do not know that sometimes there is no difference."

"So you say." I glare up at him as he drives a rod through my right thigh this time, just barely missing the bone. "…What made you like this, human?"

He returns my glare and crouches down to stare me in the eye. "Pain made me this way. And soon, I will be a god that brings pain to this world. And through that pain, the world will grow and know peace."

"Pain will make it grow?" Somehow, that rings untrue to me. Perhaps not entirely untrue, but still…there's something just not right about it.

I close my eyes and block out all sound, focusing on my breathing, on my chakra, and on pushing away the pain. And I do it by focusing on this idea of pain that he has. Yes, I suppose that pain can be a useful tool as we are growing up. It teaches us what to do and what not to do. It is a force that will either break us irreparably or force us to grow and overcome it.

But when it is too much, too destructive, all it can be is a force of darkness, a power that only destroys, damages beyond repair, and sickens beyond healing. For there to be peace, there must be healing. There can be no healing if there is too much pain and nothing to act as a comfort. There can be no hope if all there is left is sadness and terror.

I slowly open my eyes, Pain's voice a distant echo as he speaks with Naruto. Or perhaps preaching would be a better description of their conversation. And endless cycle of war, pain, peace, and war again. How is that any different to how things already are? Pain called me naive, but I believe it is he who is naive and unable to see past his own pain. And so the wheels turn again.

Then, as silent as the grace, a pair of pale lilac eyes appear above me and the rods in my shoulders slide right out, then the one in my stomach, allowing me to sit up. Next come the rods in my legs, and with that freedom, the healing begins to set it. "Hinata…" I cough up some blood but keep my voice low, quiet, inaudible to Pain. "What are you doing here? You need to get away from this battle." She didn't need to intervene, I was less than a minute away from building up the chakra necessary to shatter all of the chakra rods and expel the foreign chakra from my body. She didn't need to put herself at risk like this.

She shakes her head, her eyes alight with determination. "I won't leave Naruto here to die, I won't leave either of you here. You were closer to me and further from Pain, so I…"

"So you decided to get to me first because I was the easier choice and I increase your odds of getting to Naruto." Of course, that makes perfect sense. _Suzaku, are you there?_

 _Yes, Chick. Our connection is strengthening as we speak._

 _Good._ I'm going to need him for more than just healing my wounds. _We're going to get Naruto. Are you ready?_

 _Of course, Chick._

I breathe out heavily, then push myself onto my knees and prop myself up while the bleeding slows and staunches. "Alright Hinata, now-"

But she leaps forward without me and it takes me a moment before I curse liberally under my breath. _And right there we have a perfect example of the line between bravery and stupidity being crossed._ Because at the level of skill of even a talented ninja, charging Pain along is foolhardy at best. _How am I supposed to increase your odds of getting to Naruto if you can't even wait for me to be able to get on my feet and stay standing?_

Despite the sharp pains shooting throughout my body, I force myself to my feet and flare my chakra brightly, giving Suzaku's all the room he needs to heal me as quickly as possible. Luckily, Pain seems willing enough to listen to Hinata speak for a moment. He seems to like listening to people, if only to tear them down. Then again, he rather enjoys going on and on himself. Maybe that's why. But talking can be saved for after the fight if it's not pertinent strategy.

Hinata sinks into a stance I recognize from the Gentle Fist, then breaks two of the rods holding Naruto down before being blasted across the battlefield. If she really thinks that engaging Pain in hand to hand combat is going to go well, she's wrong.

I have to save her. For she is one of those select humans who belong to ME.


	57. The Truth of Pain

**So, what you're probably going to notice right off the bat is that this chapter, like the last one, starts with a bit of a jump. So sorry about that Momochan, but in the interest of not ranting about how poorly planned Hinata's solo confrontation with Pain was, I'm just going to cover the requisite suicide battle in hindsight. That scene never really inspired me, I just…facepalm and scoff "teenagers…". Anyway, Naruto will be getting that meeting with his daddy off-screen to talk about later, don't you worry.**

 **Now, here's another nice, long chapter for you all, filled with both canon and original philosophical content.**

* * *

It probably was not my brightest idea, but I didn't have a choice. He would have killed her if I hadn't, and honestly, with the state of her, she still might die. She should be broken in half with all that punishment she took from Pain's ability throwing her around like a rag doll. And yet…she's still in one piece. Barely breathing, but still in one piece…

I try to keep my weight off of her, but my body feels numb and cold and moving is near impossible. Especially under the weight of the chakra bearing down on us. _Naruto…_

Multiple chakra rods stick out of my back, piercing me in painful and uncomfortable places. And then the weight of Naruto's chakra as it slams down on everything around us. It's thick and dark, infused with all of his pain and the fox's own fury and hatred. Rarely have I felt his chakra go this dark. And it's almost as rare for me to hear him roar like a demon.

 _Naruto needs me. Naruto needs me to go and rein him in._ He needs me to control his temper when he goes off like this. No one but me can suppress the fox when he gets to this point. But I can't fucking move. And Naruto is out there all alone against Pain.

I open my eyes and glance about. The crater is a mess, but now empty, save for myself and Hinata. _They're gone…_ I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. On the one hand, it means that Naruto is currently well out of his reach. And on the other, it means that Naruto is at least clear of the village, if only just, so the damage done here shouldn't get any worse. I suppose that could be construed as a bright side. But I need to get moving. If Naruto can't put down Pain in this form on his own, the Pain will undoubtedly be coming back for me.

"Lady Hinata!"

"Lady Ciara!"

There's a familiarity to the voices that call out for us. And there's a familiarity to the hands that touch me and start to pull the rods from my back. "Ciara…" Hiro, it has to be.

Hiro carefully moves me off of Hinata and pulls out a second rod from my back. "What happened out here…?"

"She tried her best, but Pain…he threw her through the air and slammed her into the ground. He stabbed her…" I glance at Hinata as she's pulled away by one of her clansmen so that Sakura can start working on her. "He tried to stabs a bunch of these rods into her, but I…"

"You got in the way and took the hit and refused to move and let him finish her off." Hiro sighs and shakes his head. "Of course you did. You know that Akito is going to have a field day with this, right?"

"Yeah…" I'll be he is. "Where is he?"

"With the cipher and intelligence divisions. He's fine." Hiro tugs out the rest of the rods and sits me up to let me cough up the bits of blood still present in my mouth, throat, and lungs. "Naruto disappeared to chase Pain, but no one was killed during his transformation."

"Good." I know that Naruto would never be able to forgive himself if he accidentally killed someone while in that state. "I have to go help him."

"I do not think that you will be able to help him while you are in this state, Ciara." Lee crouches down beside me, and Neji alternates between looking after Hinata and glancing worriedly at me. Really, it's sweet, but there's more people to worry about than just me. And as per the usual, there's many people much more likely to die than me that they should be worrying about.

I take a deep breath as I close my eyes. "There's more than one way for a dragon to be of help. And no matter how injured I am, as long as I have the chakra to manage myself…" As long as I can build up enough chakra fast enough to get to him, everything will be okay.

"Alright, then we'll go with you to back Naruto up." Gai smiles confidently at me, despite the gravity of the situation. "Lee, are you ready?"

"Wait!" One of Katsuyu's many bodies wiggles over, looking as solemn and stern as a slug can. "You mustn't go. Naruto is about to face the final Pain, you will only be a hindrance now."

They will, but I won't. "Katsuyu is right. You should all stay here and organize a rescue effort for anyone who might be trapped under the rubble. The destruction has made the village dangerous, and there's no telling what could collapse at any second. You all need to work on stabilizing what you can, and rescuing whoever is still alive." And of course, retrieve the bodies of the dead. "I will be enough to go with Naruto."

"Ciara…your body is in pretty bad shape. You shouldn't go running off like that." Sakura fixes me with a stern glare. So stern that it almost makes me laugh.

I sigh and lean back against Hiro. "Then it's a good thing that I had no intention of taking my body with me." I breathe in and out, slowly and surely, drawing in energy from everything around me with every breath. I'm not going to be anywhere near full power, but I have enough in me to cause plenty of trouble. "I'll leave my body here so that Suzaku can work on healing me. But if Naruto is going to meet the puppet-master behind all of this, then I AM going to be there." There are things I need to ascertain, and that can only be done face to face with the real Pain.

"Are you sure that you're going to be okay?" Hiro watches me carefully with a wary gaze. "You've never pushed yourself this hard before."

"Yeah, I'll be okay." That much I know. I'm not going to let Naruto walk into the lion's den without me. Though I suspect that, if Naruto's past experience is anything to go by, this meeting is going to involve less fighting and more talking. Pain does seem to be the chatty type.

"Alright, then good luck." Hiro brushes my hair from my face and smiles. "And give Pain a good earful when you get there."

I smile wryly and nod my assent. "Of course." Then I look to the sky and breathe, counting down slowly. And on five, I exhale harshly, letting my spirit exit on the exhale and rise above my body as it loses consciousness.

Leaving my body is strange, like taking a step over a waterfall, but never hitting the bottom. A long, elegant, flowing dress swirls around me as I step away from my body. The balance of my head is different, even in a weightless form, and I know that there are horns and ornaments and jewels atop it. I glance over my shoulder, taking a moment to take in the awestruck expressions. "Remember what I said. The village needs your help now, not us."

Hiro stares at me both in wonder and in reverence. "Yes, My Lady."

The Hyuga retainer by Hinata's side stares a little less flatteringly at me. "What are you?"

I blink once, then turn to face him fully. "I am Myojo no Kaze, she who is the winds of the morning star, the last dragon of the holy mountain Tenryuusai, and the only remaining heir of the Olde Ones, those who came from a time well before the spreading of humans across the lands." I wave my hand and my dress vanishes, replaced by my combat attire. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have a best friend to save."

Without waiting for a response, I soar up into the air, letting my body elongate as I twist and turn my serpentine form into a graceful and elegant dragon. This form is large and awkward at times, but never before have I felt so free.

And with this freedom, I soar through the clouds, scanning the land below for signs of he who is my greatest friend, my partner in battle, and no less than the brother I never had. For Naruto is an important piece of my heart, one that I refuse to let go.

But instead of an epic battle, all I find is two men on the ground. One is unmoving with bright ginger hair. And the other… "Naruto…" I land carefully and shrink down, allowing my form to become human again.

I approach Naruto slowly, feeling my way towards him. I can feel no more traces of the fox's chakra like I had earlier. That must mean that the seal is safely back in pace. "…Naruto?"

He groans and rolls over onto his back to look up at me. "Hey…Ciara…what's up?"

"Me, obviously." He's the one laying on the ground after all. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just…" He picks up one of the chakra rods that he must have only just removed from Pain's corpse. "I want to go and talk to Pain."

"I figured as much." I watch as he drives the rod into his own flesh for just a moment, then removes it and tosses it to the ground. "So, shall we go?"

He glance at me and looks me up and down. "Are you sure that you're okay to go like that?"

"Yeah, that's why I pushed my spirit out for one last hurrah." I sigh and approach close enough to lay a transparent hand on his shoulder. "Let's go. I've been wanting to meet this Pain for myself as well."

"Alright." He rises to his feet and brushes some of the dirt from his clothes. "Then let's see what the real Pain has to say for himself."

* * *

On the highest hill outside the village stands a tree of paper. A wispy thing that looks far more solid than it is. Beautifully deceptive. And not the easiest to find, either. For anyone other than Naruto and I, anyway. "They're in there." I can sense two of them in there. The woman, and another whose life force is quite weak.

"Right." Naruto steps forward and reaches his hands into the tree, parting the papers and creating a gap through which we can enter. How do you hide in a forest, after all? You hide yourself in a tree.

The moment that we step inside, the woman with the blue hair races forward, only to stop in her tracks when a man hooked up to a large mechanical contraption raises his voice. "Konan, stay out of this."

"But Nagato…" And now we finally get to hear the name of the real Pain. I assumed that Pain wasn't actually his name. But Nagato feels…right.

What isn't right about him, though, is how sickly and emaciated he looks. Honestly, he's what I imagine a prisoner of war would look like after years in captivity. "It's alright." He eyes us with that Rinnegan of his, and I assume that these are the real eyes, projected onto those corpses through ninjutsu. "So, the peacemaker comes stumbling in at last." His gaze grows cold and defiant. "Tell me, do you hate me now? I am the object of your vendetta. Do you wish to exact revenge on me?"

"Killing Nagato and taking vengeance isn't going to do a single thing to change the world. You will only get personal satisfaction." The woman, Konan, is clearly Nagato's biggest advocate. I would even say his caretaker. And, if he were capable of it, which I doubt in his state, I would almost say his lover.

It's easy to see how his words get to Naruto. Sometime in the past, they might have gotten to me too. And yet… "Naruto." I step forward and place a transparent hand upon his shoulder. I need only smile and say his name, and the angry tremble in his shoulders comes to a stop.

Then I turn my gaze on Konan. "You're right, taking revenge and killing the both of you will solve nothing. The dead are dead, and no punishment that we could enact on either of you will bring them back to us." It's strange, I thought that I would be angrier than this, but instead, I just feel…calm, almost serene, in fact. Maybe it's because, after all of that fighting, and after all that we suffered, I was honestly expecting…more. But Pain…Nagato, he's just so frail that it's hard to imagine him as the object of some great vengeance. However, there are still things to be made clear. "If you attempt to kill anyone else that I hold dear, I will strike you both down where you stand without hesitation." Konan tenses with the utterance of my threat, but Nagato seems entirely unaffected by it.

Nagato's eyes fall onto Naruto, judging his worth in ways that I don't like. "If you could not find the answer, then there's nothing more you can do. So do the just thing and simply sacrifice yourselves to me and to the peace I shall soon construct!" he shoots a chakra rod out of that contraption of his and hits Naruto square in the chest with it. "…From this short distance, I'm able to completely manipulate your every move with my chakra. But don't worry, I've avoided your vital spots, because you're invaluable to me, Jinchuuriki."

"And there's that word again." Finally, I draw his attention to me as I frown with disapproval and low-simmering anger. Righteous fury…all on the behalf of Naruto, of our fallen kin. "Jinchuuriki, a human sacrifice. It seems that everyone is intent on sacrificing jinchuuriki in one way or another. You use it as a way to make us into things that aren't people, into weapons, tools, and sacrificial lambs." And it's wrong, all of it is wrong. "In search of your notion of peace, you have slaughtered our kin like nothing more than animals. Were it not for timely intervention, I would also be among your victims. Were it not for our will to fight, so would Naruto. You kill and cause pain…and for what? To inflict onto others what was inflicted onto you?"

His cold gaze falls squarely on me, his eyes piercing, but not through me. "Yes. For it is only through pain that we can understand one another."

"That…is truly sad." And I mean it. If that is how he truly feels, then I feel sad for him. I weep for him. "Do you know…what the difference between undergoing pain and understanding it is?"

His eyes narrow, their lavender light glowing dimly in the darkness. "What are you talking about?"

Even Naruto turns to stare at me now. "Ciara…?"

I stare unblinkingly at Nagato, utterly calm and unafraid. "Many people feel pain. From the ordinary stubbed toe to being the sole survivor of a massive genocide. Some experience war, starvation, torture, while others experience the pain of losing a loved one, or having their heart broken. There are many ways to undergo pain. Understanding it…that's different."And this…this is something that I hold close to my heart.

"And what do you think it means to understand pain?" He glares disapprovingly at me. "What would a child like you know of pain?"

"…When I was five years old, I stepped over the bodies of dead member of my family, of my whole clan, on the night that assassins managed to break into our estate and cripple our clan's greatest fighters before proceeding to slaughter all of us. That was a night of nothing but blood and death, and I still wake up screaming in the middle of the night when those memories return to the surface to torment me. Thanks to the intervention of my uncle, who made me into a jinchuuriki, I was the sole survivor on that night. That night…my life was destroyed, and I felt the sort of pain that no one should ever have to feel." The mere mention of the memories makes me want to huddle into a ball and cry. "I know what it is to undergo pain. But…I also understand the nature of it, the nature of pain and hatred."

"You say that you understand pain, have felt pain." Nagato seems…almost morbidly intrigued now. "Then what do you believe that the nature of pain is?"

"…Pain is a poison, as is hatred. And where pain and hatred fester, there can be no healing." If Naruto has no answer, then I will give him one of my own. "You, who inflict pain because you believe that it is the only way to understand one another…" I look him right in the eye and take a step forward. "Was there no one in your life, after all of this pain was inflicted on you, who found you, held you, loved you, and allowed your wounds to heal and your heart to find peace? If you cannot find peace within yourself, how can you hope to bring peace to the world?" Not that I am a shining example of peace in one's heart. I still carry too much pain for that to be true.

"You say that pain prevents one from finding peace?" He huffs softly, almost as if amused with me. "You are a child who may understand pain, but you do not understand peace."

But the moment that he moves to reprimand me again, he stops cold, his eyes widening as Naruto's chakra flares. And next to me, Naruto looks up with his eyes glowing a bloody crimson. "You know, I came here intending to talk to you, and to see how I would feel…standing in front of the one who destroyed my village."

"…And?" Nagato's voice rings with a challenge in it.

"And I really can't forgive you!" Naruto pulls at the rod still embedded in his stomach. "I want to kill you so badly that I can't stop shaking!" He pulls out the rod and tosses it away on the floor. Then he charges at the two of them, only to stop short with tears in his eyes. "Pervy Sage said that he truly believed the day would come when everyone could understand one another. But to tell you the truth, I wasn't really paying attention to much he was saying." Naruto drops his fist and hangs his head. "He said he would pass on his quest to me. I…was just excited that he was complimenting me as his student. But looking back now…I finally understand what he was trying to say…that nothing in this world is that simple."

"However, that still doesn't change the fact that you cannot forgive me. Human love is not so worthless that you can sweep it under the rug." Nagato makes a good point, and I happen to agree that love is not worthless, nor should it be swept under the rug. But that does not mean that one must allow themselves to be crippled by hatred when that love is lost.

Perhaps Jiraiya's words were idealistic, but I think that there's wisdom in that idealism.

Nagato scoffs at the sight of Naruto standing before him with more than a hint of despair in his eyes. "I thought you said you would take me down and that you'd bring peace to this shinobi world. But those are just more empty words. You just want to exact your own personal revenge. If that's your idea of justice, then so be it. …you are not a god." Naruto isn't, but… "Now that you see reality for what it is, can you truly still believe in Jiraiya-Sensei's ridiculous words and outdated thoughts?"

"Yes." My answer comes without hesitation as I shift and grow, filling the room with my life and light as I place down a transparent clawed foot on either wide of Nagato's mechanized wheelchair. "For thousands of years, that is how my ancestors lived. After a great war between immortal spirits of all kinds ravaged the world, the first of my clan fled their old home and settled in these lands, claiming them for their own. And until shinobi came with their wars, all was peaceful here, for they had healed their hurts and understood that pain was something that should be inflicted on no one."

I remember the stories I was told as a child. "What you call a god…I call ancestors, dragons. A god is such a…human notion. A way to identify something that cannot be understood nearly as simply as other human ideas. They are…inexplicably strange, and there is simply something otherworldly about them. But even a god must work to know peace. To know peace in the world, first, peace must be found within the mind, within the heart, within the soul. Those are the words of what you humans would call a god."

Naruto stares up at me in surprise, while Nagato and Konan look more than a little shocked, their faces riddled with confusion and disbelief.

So, Naruto takes it upon himself to break the uneasy silence. "You see…Ciara's different…she's always got an answer for this wort of stuff. She's got all that ancient wisdom, but me…I just…" He shakes his head and huffs with frustration. "…Before I give you my answer, I want to hear your stories. I want to know what made you this way, why you could be Jiraiya's students and somehow…turn out like this."

It's a reasonable request, I think, even if Naruto frankly could have phrased it better.

But the moment that Nagato agrees to share his story…I almost wish he hadn't.

* * *

Were I not in spirit form…hearing of the destruction caused to the Hidden Rain and the things that they suffered there would have been more than enough to bring me to tears. And yet…while Naruto latches on to the story as a whole, there is a single turning point in their tale that fills in so many gaps that I didn't even know existed. And opens up even more questions that must be considered.

Danzo. The same man who allegedly ordered the genocides of at least two clans, and committed countless other crimes…was responsible for the creation of the Akatsuki. He my not have ordered it to be formed, but he was the one whose alliance with Hanzo killed Nagato and Konan's friend and spiraled the Akatsuki into what they became. And despite it all…despite the destruction Nagato wrought…it's hard to see him as anything but the victim. How long have the machinations of the few ruled the lives of the many? Did humanity ever truly have the ability to rule themselves?

As long as humanity exists, so too will hatred exist. And for some to live in peace, others must die in war. This is the notion of peace that Nagato grew up with. A twisted notion that I would never call peace. But I suppose that my refusal to call that peace doesn't undo all that has been done in the name of that goal.

Happiness and sadness. Peace and pain. Love and hatred. For too long, it seems that their lives have turned towards the latter, and that is why they killed so many in the name of their peace. It was still wrong, of course, but now I's much easier to understand why they went to such extreme measures for their vision of peace.

"Naruto…" He looks like the weight of the world is on his shoulders. And if I can take that weight from him, I will. I shrink back down by his side and rest my head on his shoulder, even if he can't feel it. "Talk to me…"

"Yes, speak, Naruto Uzumaki." Nagato watches the two of us with…almost resignation in that contempt. "Tell me what your answer is." The answer, asking for the answer, even now. I don't know if Nagato is trying to validate his own position or convince himself that his own words aren't true. I don't know if he's wavering, but I do think that he's just…tired. He's been on this crusade for so long, been so hurt, so broken…

I know that it is not like a ninja to feel sympathy for their enemy, but his soul is in so much pain that I can't help it. If he moves to kill Naruto, I will strike him down. If he does not…I do believe I might end up ending his life anyway.

Finally, Naruto moves and pulls a book from his pants. It looks old, worn, but I recognize the writing. It's Jiraiya's. "…I understand how you think that way and…maybe I think a lot like that too, but…I still hate you, and I can't forgive you for what you've done."

"Then you want to settle things with me?"

"I do. But Pervy Sage believed in me and wanted me to continue his quest. And for those reasons, I choose to believe in him, and to follow what he taught me." Naruto's eyes open wide, now filled with a hard and precious determination. "So that's it, that's my answer." His answer, is to try and bring peace to the world by doing something about all of the hatred. Not using it as a tool for producing pain, but wiping it away. And that's something that I can get behind. "That's why I'm not gonna kill you guys." He glances at me. "Right?"

"…Killing them won't bring the dead back to life." I've said it before and I will say it again. Because there are some who still need to come to terms with that simple fact, no matter how much it hurts. "There is no amount of revenge that will truly heal a wounded heart. Only acceptance of what is in the heart will allow it to heal. Love." And as much as I am hurt by their actions, as much as my heart bleeds from the wounds that these two have inflicted on it…I know that it would be wrong to lay all of the blame at their feet. _Does this make me wise, Dad? Or does it make me foolish?_ I wonder if there's a difference. "That is why I try to heal the hearts of those around me, so that they can feel peace inside them."

"After everything that's happened." Nagato's eyes flick from me and back to Naruto. "You still believe in Jiraiya-Sensei's teachings? In these ancient notions of love and peace?" He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. "Very well then, you've given your answers. And you expect us to wait until you somehow magically transform this world into a peaceful place?" That hostile light flashes in his eyes again. "No! Never! How can I believe in those words after all of this!? There will never be such a thing as true peace! Not as long as we are forced to live in this accursed world! Peace is impossible!"

"If that is what you believe, then all you will do is drag the world down with the same pain that you feel." And now, parts of his story ring so incredibly true to me. "Then all the world will be crying because of this curse you blame." The tragic comment earns me a silent, unhappy glare.

"A curse, huh…" Naruto stares down at the book as the gears turn over and over in his head. Then he raises his head again with purpose. "Well then, I'm going to break that curse one day. If there's truly such a thing as peace in this world, then somehow I'll find it. I'll never stop looking."

"You…but that's…" Nagato's gaze drops to the book in Naruto's hand. Did he just…quote the book? "Those words…"

"You're right, those words are taken right out of this book, the first book that Pervy Sage ever wrote." Now it makes sense. No wonder Naruto chose to quote those words. For someone who looked up to Jiraiya like these two did…nothing else is going to have such power. "He was seriously trying to change the world with his message. And in the back of it, he wrote about his student who provided him with inspiration. It was you, Nagato."

And so it seems that we have come full circle. But now, the look in Nagato's eyes has changed. It sounds like I should make a point to read that book, if it can stop someone as set in their ways as Nagato in his tracks.

"The name…of the hero in this novel…" Naruto smiles a little sadly, but that smile of his grows in strength as he presses a thumb to his chest. "His name is Naruto. My name is a precious heirloom that was handed down to me by my master, and there's no way I'm going to dishonor his precious gift. I will become Hokage, and I will bring peace to the Hidden Rain. I will. So I'm…asking you to believe in me."

"And you won't be alone, Naruto. Remember?" I smile softly and cross my arms. "When you become Hokage, I will protect you." Because that is the path I intend for my life to take. "I'll help you do it. Even if humans can't seem to achieve peace, there's no point if you all just give up. You've made it this far, despite all of the hatred and abuse heaped on you by everyone who knew you were a jinchuuriki." It's incredible, really. "You've stayed true to your path, and I'm proud of you. And…so thankful as well. You were there for so many of my nightmares, you slept next to me as I cried over everyone that I've lost, worried when no one else had a clue." For that, I don't think I will ever be able to thank Naruto enough. Not in this lifetime or the next.

"Yeah…" Naruto presses a hand to his stomach, right over the invisible seal there. "And you made the pain easier…you took on what you could and shielded me, reassured me. There's a lot of pain still inside me, in this whole world. But I won't stop believing just because things are getting difficult. Just like how if the hero in this book changed…then it would be a totally different story, it wouldn't be the story Pervy Sage left behind. It wouldn't be the story of Naruto. I cant write books like he did, so the sequel has to come from whatever life I live. That's why, no matter how much pain my own path brings, I'll keep walking. Because that's who Naruto is!"

"If the hero ever changes…it'll be a different story…" Nagato closes his eyes and stills. "…We are sibling students, sharing the same sensei. We ought to be able to understand each other." He breathes out a ragged breath. "When I said that to you earlier, I meant it as a joke. You really are a curious fellow, you remind me of myself when I was much younger. I wasn't able to continue believing in Jiraiya's ideas. Nor…could I keep believing in myself. But…you show me a vision of a different future to the path I've walked." He slowly pulls his arms out of the confines of the machine and places his hands together. "I think…I shall believe in you after all, Naruto Uzumaki. Now, I will undo what damage I can."

"Wait, Nagato, you can't!" Konan, mostly silent until now, turns to Nagato with a look of terror on her face.

"No, Konan, it's alright." And despite the utter frailty of his body, Nagato gathers up fat more chakra than I thought he could produce. "I am going to make a new choice."

Konan's stricken face worries me, but I feel no attacking force behind whatever jutsu he is performing. I do, however, feel the swirls of energy far behind us in the village. Her eyes mist over with a sheen of tears. "…His eyes are those that preside over life and death."

"Over life and death?" If that's true, then what he's doing must be… If he can restore life to those who can be saved… Of course, I'm not stupid, I know that no matter the power of the ninjutsu, there were some whose bodies were damaged beyond repair in the battles and can no longer host a spirit within them. There's no way to save everyone who was killed, and there will no doubt still be a slew of funerals to be had when the village begins to recover. But if even a few can be saved… I look up at him as his red hair turns white. "…Thank you." And of course, there are still those who are too long dead. He won't be able to restore life to the jinchuuriki he killed. But now…I suppose we won't have to be worried about the Akatsuki hunting us any longer.

"War…inflicts death and pain on everyone. The truth is…the more precious someone is to us, the harder it is to accept that they might die." Nagato is right, of course. "Sometimes, you actually convince yourself there's no way they could die. This naivete can't be helped…not with a generation like yours." Blood drips from his mouth, and it's clear as day what's happening. "A generation that does not know war. You may try to find meaning in it, but in war, there is only loss and unbearable pain. That senseless death unleashes the cycle of hatred that never ends. War creates only more war. That is what you must face in the coming days."

"Then we face them head on." For there is no other way to go about it. I step forward, then push off from the ground and land on the metal circling Nagato's hips. A mere touch tells me all I need to know. "…I can't save you…" Not that I should, of course. For what kind of life would he lead? Crippled, hunted, on the brink of death with only Konan as his much pain…and I could…

"It's funny, the parallels between you and that book, it's like someone set it all up. Like the work…" He glances first at Naruto, then at me. "Of an actual god."

"If only they weren't all dead…" But I know that their time is long since passed, now. "I told you…that peace in the world first comes from peace within…" I hold my transparent hands to his head and look him in the eye. "I can try…to give you a moment, before the end."

He sighs softly, his breath so quiet, so weak. "That…would be welcome…" Nagato's gaze is no longer piercing, but warm. "And perhaps their time has not yet passed the world by. I…will believe in the power held before me…to change the world."

My eyes widen and I glance back at Naruto, who seems equally surprised at this endorsement of his goals from the leader of the Akatsuki himself. Then I allow myself to focus once more on the dying man before me. "…You have fought long and hard. You have suffered and wrought suffering, killed and saved. Your fight is done, and your torch will be taken up and used to light a new path." And with his death, a dangerous power will leave this world. It takes only a fraction of my energy to wipe his mind clean of the pain holding his heart. "Go now, walk the path that awaits you in the next world. For your time here…" I drop my hands as his breathing ceases. "Is done."

It turned out not to be an epic battle for revenge…but I feel like, in releasing his spirit, I can release some of the pain inside myself as well. The Akatsuki is finished, the battle is won, deaths have been avenged if anyone cares to see it that way, and a tormented soul has been laid to rest. To me…this is not vengeance…but it is closure, something to allow me to keep walking forward without constantly looking back.

But all of this still leaves the perpetrator of so many crimes, so much pain. The one who had a hand directly in creating Pain. I know in my heart that my next fight will be Danzo, and it will not end so peacefully.


	58. It Takes a Dragon to Raise a Village

**So…this was kind of an accident, but Sakura ends up being a bit of a mother hen. Which is fine, these two need someone to be a mother hen from time to time. Also, I've included more suggestions of Narutoverse-style Shintoism ahead.**

 **And, after two solid chapters of Ciara's POV, we're mixing it back up a little, so I hope that you enjoy perspectives. We'll be dealing with the cleaning up after the battle next chapter and start the transition into the Five Kage Summit arc.**

 **Also, points to anyone who can spot the little suggestions I make about two thirds of the way through the chapter through Naruto's POV The first hints show up in Ciara's POV about a third of the way in.**

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

They're gone. The fighting is over, what has been repaired now has been, and Konan and Nagato are gone. I glance at the bouquet of paper flowers in Naruto's arms and sigh softly. "…How are you feeling?"

"I…don't know." I can't blame him for that winded look on his face. This whole day has been nothing but a whirlwind of battle and philosophical debates. "…I want to make a shrine for them."

"I see." After all of this, it's still makes my heart ache to think of Jiraiya, but…I suppose he's at peace now. His legacy has been handed down, he has been avenged…if that matters, and now Naruto has the hopes and dreams of even more people to weigh on his shoulders. But I will help him carry them for as long as I am able. "Then we'll take the flowers home with us and make a shrine there." A shrine to the hopes and dreams passed down by Jiraiya, by Nagato, and by Yahiko. I knew that the lead Pain was a special one, but for it to have been made from the body of their friend Yahiko…

I sigh and look down through the trees and back towards the village. "Come on, we should go and see what's waiting down there."

"Yeah, sure." Naruto cradles the flowers in his arms and walks beside me as we slowly begin to wind our way down the mountain. He's tired, that much is obvious, too tired to be absorbing energy from the outside to restore his strength right now.

My footsteps are silent beside his, never wavering in the slightest as I match his pace step for step. "You'll be okay, Naruto." I have faith in that.

"Yeah, I will." Despite his exhaustion, it reassures me to hear him say that. "Are you okay? I mean…I know how bad your nightmares were, and…"

"I'll be fine. It…wasn't the confrontation that I was expecting, but I feel better now." Though I still can't believe that actually worked. "You talked another down, Naruto." I laugh almost disbelievingly. But I saw it with my own eyes. "You and that magical tongue of yours…I swear it's going to take you places you never imagined it will.

"Hm…you think I could use it to sweet-talk Sakura too?" Naruto picks up that thread easily, though I can still see all of the pain and uncertainty in his eyes. But right now I think we both need something normal, something easy. Naruto's hectic relationship with Sakura is just the ticket.

"Maybe." I smirk as I think of all the wicked suggestions that the old pervert would have for Naruto if he could overhear this conversation. "It's all about where you apply it to. Also, be careful not to let her hit you. Some girls get embarrassed easily, and she's the type that resorts to hitting people to keep them from seeing her soft, squishy insides."

Naruto laughs loudly and puts a hand behind his head to ruffle his hair. "Yeah, you sure got that right. Maybe I should steal one of Kakashi-Sensei's trashy novels after all."

"Yeah, maybe you should." I hum softly, thinking of all the manuscript ideas that the old perv had that will go unwritten now. _Maybe I could look into those…_ But that's probably a problem to be tackled on another day. "Naruto, do you want to take a rest?" He's cheerful, but he also looks like he could fall over at any moment.

"Nah, I'll be…" Naruto breathes in heavily and leans against a tree, the smile on his face beginning to fade. "Fine…"

"Naruto…" But as I reach out for Naruto, I spot another figure walking towards us through the trees. Kakashi… He glances at Naruto, then at me. He nods and crouches slightly as he grows closer, turning to allow Naruto to fall on his back with the next step.

And behind that mask, I can see a hint of a smile. "Nice job you two. You can go ahead and take it easy now."

"Kakashi-Sensei…?" Naruto blinks and registers his new place on Kakashi's back. Though it's kind of a funny picture now that Naruto is nearly fully grown.

"Stay still, I'll carry you." Kakashi's voice is soft and soothing, and I can't help but smile as Naruto does. It's almost like watching Kakashi haul around a little brother.

The walk is quiet, but it's a peaceful, happy sort of quiet. The kind that provides comfort and closeness. _Maybe I should set aside a room in the mansion for Kakashi as well._ Not that I think he would actually take me up on it, but I think it would be nice to make sure that he has a second home, if he ever grows lonely.

With every step we take closer to the village, the sounds of people begin to grow louder. I frown, since when I last checked, the village had been evacuated. But…through the last of the trees, I can see a huge crowd gathered ahead. Thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of people. Ninjas and civilians, young children, the elderly, and adults of all ages. I think…the entire village is out here waiting for the hero's return.

"Kakashi." I glance at him and nod on ahead as I stop in my tracks. This is Naruto's moment, after all. It's only proper that he get to bask in this first.

"Sure." He shoots me an odd look, but continues on through the trees, much to the growing excitement of the crowd. The moment they spot Naruto getting down from Kakashi's back, the celebrations begin.

But I'll wait for a minute or two, or three. After all, like this, I need to try to build up the chakra I need to fix what has been broken. And without my body, it's going to be harder to accumulate it and keep it from leaking out.

I suppress a laugh when Naruto gets mobbed by kids, then I have to really work to suppress one when Sakura gives Naruto a good thwack to his noggin. _Ah…sometimes, the people you care the most about need a good whack when they do something stupid._ But the smile on Naruto's face as he rubs the spot she hit widens when she wraps her arms around him. It's sweet, really. After all, Sakura wouldn't get so annoyed if she didn't care. And I know that she cares a lot more than she likes to let on.

A the celebrating starts to roll into full swing, I breathe in energy from the trees, from the air, from the earth. My ancestors shaped this land and allowed it to flourish under their protection. That protection has been lacking for so long…but no more. I will be the one to fix and shape this place, and remake it as it once was. And for that…I require power.

 _Ancestors…please watch over me…please help me…lend me power and guide my hand, for I do not know if I can do this alone._

I don't know if my prayers will be answered, but I will forge on nonetheless. I step forward out of the trees, still accumulating energy with every step. Translucent white skirts flare out around my ankles as I walk, fluttering in the breeze as I walk towards the crowd. The shimmering gold embroidery stands out against the red silk of the cheongsam I wear, a relic from a bygone era and lands far away.

Naruto's attention is preoccupied, but Hinata notices me from where she stands watching Naruto. I'm glad that she got all the treatment that she needed and survived her wounds. But the way that she watches me is almost unnerving.

Slowly, other heads begin to turn, and from the crowd, Akito and Hiro approach with my body nestled in Akito's arms. Carefully, they kneel before me, bowing their heads with smiles on their faces. And Akito's gaze is the first to rise. "Myojo no Kaze…what are your orders, My Lady?"

It's obvious what he is doing so publicly. It's a game that I never thought we would actually play, but so it has come to this. "…Follow me. I go to the middle of the village to repair the destruction that has been wrought."

"Then leave it to us." Hiro grins as he rises to his feet, ready to make this into an utter spectacle. Though I suppose that today is just a day for spectacles on all sides. He turns and walks in front of me, staring down those in the sea of people before us. "Part the crowd, Our Lady is passing."

I huff softly, but maintain a calm composure. "You're making a scene."

Hiro looks back for a moment and smirks. "You know, for a while I didn't think I would be right."

"Right about what?" What's he on about?

"That you're an almighty goddess." And suddenly, his words from the Chunin Exams occur to me from those few years ago. "You have blossomed beautifully."

"I'm sure…" Though I still have no desire to be worshiped and have people bring all of their problems to me. But…for an instance like this, I will use whatever power I possess to right what has been made wrong. "Very well, lead the way."

"My pleasure." Hiro turns away from me and begins marching through the crowd, coaxing them to begin parting.

I stride soundlessly past over a dozen people before the march grows easier. For as the sea starts to part, the way before us begins to open up well ahead of us. The people know that there is someone coming and that there is something to see. And as people like to do, they stare in wonder and awe as I pass with my guardians around me.

Hiro slows his pace as the way before us clears and allows me to pass him, falling into step behind me with Akito. It gives all those who chose to gaze a clearer view as I pass.

Energy pulls from the earth into me with every step that I take towards the center of the village. It gives me several extra minutes to accumulate the massive amounts of energy I need. And the whispers begin to reach my ears, drifting through the noise of the crowd like scarves twisting in the wind.

"Who is she?"

"Didn't the Lady Katsuyu say her name was Myojo no Kaze?"

"Wait, she's one of those dragon gods, isn't she?"

"You mean the ones who live up at that temple on the mountain?"

"I thought that they retreated to the heavens years ago."

"She's the one who stopped that attack from destroying the entire village."

"What's she going to do?"

 _Ah…humans and their words…_ Their gossip is almost…funny, really. At least now that they're not using gossip to badmouth Naruto. Though I'm sure that both his actions and my own this day will give them plenty to gossip about in the months to come.

The center of the village is still a crater, and the ring around it nothing but rubble. But…there is still something that I can do to help fix this. "Remain here." I glance back at the two dedicated men following close behind me. "And tell all that no one is to approach me as I dance."

Akito nods gracefully. "Of course, My Lady."

I smile almost wryly at the tone of address. But there will be time to drop the formalities later. "Be safe."

I turn away from the crowd and walk right to the rim of the crater. It's deep and wide, many square kilometers have vanished into nothingness. But the earth is wide and vast, there is much that can be done, if only one has the power to do it. I do not know if my power alone is enough, but I will use it to shape this land to my own design.

With a wave of my hand and the infusing of energy far more than just chakra into the ground, I channel the energy of the earth to raise the center of the crater into the hills and cliffs that were once found there. Our village has never been a perfectly flat one, and much of its beauty comes from the variations in its topography. And it is that beauty that I try to recreate as I raise up the earth and settle it into place. It will not have quite the same density that it once did, but the earth is malleable and suits my purposes as the cliffs rise and the depressions begin to sink into what will be lakes and riverbeds.

The village trembles as the earth shifts and reforms itself. But little by little, the crater disappears, leaving behind the barren earth that will have to be resown with the many crops and trees and flowers that once lay there.

My form grows and twists, giving me back my claws and long, serpentine body, and a pair of wings that cast light shadows across the ground. I launch myself into the air, spinning and whirling as I gain speed enough to fly in giant circles above the newly created center of the village.

I gather power into my mouth, then release water from my maw in a mighty roar, splitting rock and carving channels into the earth to fill them with water, restoring the lakes and reservoirs one by one. For it is from those bodies of water that the others will run. I may not be able to restore the plant life here to what it was, but I can restore the ground on which the people can build. I can crush the earth into soil so that they might enrich it and replant the crops. And the wind from my wings can carry the seeds of the forest around the village on them, spreading them across our ruined home. It will take time, but with hard work and dedication, this place can be made into what it once was.

When over a dozen lakes and rivers have been carved out and filled, I land atop the cliffs in the center of what was once a crater and sit myself there. I stare out across the village at the ring of rubble lining the edges of the crater that no longer exists. Before me extends a stark but beautiful map of rocky ground and soft hills, crushed soil and waterways that will help to restore life to this place. It is not perfect, but that is what makes it home. It changes with time, and this time is little different.

My maw opens once more and I unleash a mighty roar filled with bright white flames, for my dance this day is done. And I would have the people know that they can begin to rebuild the village and their lives.

Now, I am tired, and even a dragon must rest…

* * *

Naruto's P.O.V.

It took a while to get everybody to let go of me so that I could check out what was going on with Ciara and all that roaring. But when I finally got away to see what she was doing, the whole world was rumbling and spiking up around her. The way that she could move and the ground would bend and break and rise up at her will is just…

It's…incredible. I mean, I know it's not perfect, and not everything is back the way it was yet, but…she just wiped way so much of the destruction in less than half an hour. She bent and twisted nature energy in ways that I never saw during my training. It's like…she's not even human. Which, I guess she's not, actually. She's so much more than that.

"She actually did it." Sakura looks out at the new ground Ciara built with wide eyes. "That's incredible. To make permanent changes to the landscape like that is just…unbelievable."

"Yeah, it is." But she's always been good at the unbelievable.

Sakura nudges me and smiles. "You're unbelievable too, you know."

"An unbelievable idiot?" I grin and toss her own words right back at her.

Those jade eyes of hers roll and she cuffs me on the head again. "That too. Honestly, you've got to learn how to be more careful. Keep running off on your own, and one of these days you're going to run into more trouble than you can handle."

"Hey, I didn't run off alone! I had Ciara with me!" Even if she wasn't in her body at the time, between the two of us, we could have fought Nagato easy if it had come to that. I saw how his chakra was. He was pretty weak then, and Konan would have gone up in flames like a paper tornado. "Besides, we both got out of it alright, didn't we?"

Sakura huffs, but I can hear the laugh in her voice. "Yeah, I guess so. But even you can't get lucky forever. Come on, let's go collect our dragon goddess and go home already."

"Alright." I like hearing Sakura call Ciara's mansion home. I mean, I know that Sakura used to live with her parents and all, but since she moved into the mansion, it all just feels so much better. And since everybody comes to visit all the time, it's like having everybody all living together. "Wait." Then her words hit me. "Dragon goddess?"

"Uh, yeah? Can't you hear what everybody's been saying? Or do you have cotton stuffed in your ears?" Sakura's words sound snappish, but there's no bite to them, and I think she knows that. "They're saying that you saved the village with help from the dragon goddess who lives up in the temple on the mountain."

"Uh…you mean her house?" I remember people calling it a temple way back when I was a kid, but…I live there now, and I know it's a house, not a temple. "Man, people are so weird."

Sakura sighs and pulls on my arm to drag me through the crowd towards the source of the commotion. "Let's go, Naruto. We need to get you both home and into bed. Then I'll make dinner and you two can start healing properly."

"Alright, alright." I laugh and let her pull me along. I guess I can humor her for a while. I mean, I did just fight Pain after all, and that wasn't nearly as much of a piece of cake as I like to say it was. I feel like every bone in my body got broken, then mostly healed. But everything still aches, from my toes to my eyeballs. I could probably nap for a week and still be tired.

But I know that everything is going to be okay the second I see Ciara walking through the crowd with her teammates by her sides. I raise a hand and smile as I wave to her.

She looks exhausted, but she smiles back at me and waves right back. A light clings to her, clings around her, I think, like it's supporting her every step. And it shimmers with a soft blue-tinged silver. The deep emerald of her eyes glitters with tiny golden sparkles in the sun.

Those eyes…were the last eyes that someone in this village set on Sasuke. For some reason, she's the one Sasuke is willing to talk to. But if that's what it takes to keep him safe so we can bring him back, then that's what we'll do. There's no time for whining, because now that the Akatsuki is gone, we've still got Sasuke out there to find. And we need to make it safe for him to come home.

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

I should have taken Garuda and gone on ahead without them. The Leaf is still a day away, and we've been traveling at high speed for two days now. I've been pushing the team for as long as I can, but I know they're tiring. Considering the power coming out of that statue, the battle must have been an intense one. Intense battles always burn out the quickest. So chances are that the battle is long over now.

When I hear Karin panting for breath behind me, I slow my pace and check the road below again. If I'm right, the next village should be only a few more minutes away by foot, just on the edge of this forest. "…We're stopping for now. There's a village ahead."

Jugo lands on the bough next to me and scrutinizes me in that way I wish he wouldn't. "Are you sure, Sasuke?"

"Yes." Part of me wants to scream no, but I silence it in an instant. "We'll find food and a place to sleep tonight, then start again in the morning."

"Finally…" Suigetsu lands hard on the branch just below us. "I mean, I know that you wanna get to your girlfriend fast and all, but we were days away from the Leaf Village, and the battle's probably over by now."

"I'm aware of that." And it burns me that there's nothing I can do right now. Not yet, anyway. But we're only a day away. I'll know soon if she's alright or not. "Let's find out if there's a shrine nearby." They're more convenient and much safer than the inns.

I drop from the trees to the ground to follow the path. First, I make sure to pull my hood up. We're close enough to the village that my identity being leaked is a serious risk and I don't want anything getting between me and her.

The village seems small enough, but within half a minute of setting foot within its gates, I can smell the scent of a teahouse. That's always a good place to pick up information, gossip, and rumors.

Warm air caresses my skin, warm like her fingers as she tends to a wound. The woman at the counter glances towards us, her smile warming suddenly. "Travelers?"

"Yes." It's always easiest to allow people to believe their first assumption, it saves time. "We're heading south. We want food for four."

"Of course, but…are you heading towards the Hidden Leaf Village?" Suddenly, her face twists with an expression of dismay. "If I were you, I would stay away from that place right now. They're only just starting to rebuild after it was destroyed. Unless…you're traveling there to be part of the restoration efforts?"

The village was destroyed? "No, we have other business there. We've been on the road too long to have heard what happened. How long ago was this?"

"Just a couple of days, I would think. The call just went out across the nation and to neighboring lands for help in the restoration efforts." She bustles about the counter, preparing meals of rice and fish and pickled vegetables.

"I see." I knew the battle had to be monumental but…I didn't expect someone to just walk in and destroy the village. "Is there anything that we should look out for on the journey there?"

"Well…they say that there is a dragon roaming about in that area." She hands me two large bowls of food and starts preparing two more as I pass the payment across the counter. "And I've heard that the ancient shrines across the whole region have been lighting up. It's strange but…I can feel it in my bones…there are ancient powers at work here."

There are, and those are precisely what I'm after. "Is there a shrine near here?"

"Hm? Oh…well, let me think." She purses her lips together, then her gaze lights up, and I know that we'll have a safe place to go tonight. "Yes, it's just a little ways outside the village, past the farms and near the lake. It was built on the water's edge long before anyone can remember."

"Thank you." I catch Jugo's eye and nod towards the bowls she places on the counter. We've got food and a place to sleep tonight. And tomorrow, I am finding my dragon.


	59. The Avenger Kidnaps a Dragon

**Interesting question, Mikan. I hope that this next chapter answers that question for you.** **I present you with the reappearance of Sasuke and a dash of...everything that you guys want from Sasuke right now. This is not a prince kidnapping a princess. This is an assassin kidnapping himself a dragon. And not just any dragon, but a Fierce Mama Dragon! Because who doesn't love a fairy tale like that?**

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

With my hands still pressed firmly together, I slowly open my eyes and gaze at the shrine before us. Three stones connected by kunai and wire, the large middle stone inscribed in honor of the old pervert, and his book and Konan's flowers laid before it. This is a good, peaceful place to honor them with. A place to contemplate the dreams they left behind.

They were two people using the wrong methods for the right ends, though their idea of what those ends were had been twisted by pain and sadness. But I can at least respect what they were ultimately trying to accomplish, even if they were going about it all the wrong way. I don't know if I've forgiven them for what they've done after hearing about why they did it and I don't know if I ever will because the loss of the people they killed still hurts inside, but…at least it's all over now. For now.

I let my hands fall down into my lap as I sigh and glance at Naruto, equally silent in his prayers, though only for a couple moments more. He opens his own eyes and looks back at me, his sapphire eyes showing an unnatural calm. Unnatural for him, anyway. "Hey…Ciara? What…would you do if you got to see your dad again?"

"My dad?" That…was not on my list of things I expected him to say, or questions I expected him to ask. "I guess…I would throw myself into his arms…and tell him how much I love him, and how much I miss him. I would ask him if he had seen everything I've done, and if he's proud of me. And I would ask him if I've acted in the ways that I should, if I've done things right, or if my interpretation of my family's legacy has been wrong right from the start." I've tried to uphold it in every way that I can, but I don't know if I'm doing it right, or if I truly never understood it at all. "I would ask him if I've been merciful enough, too merciful, or too cruel…" There's a lot of things that I want to ask him. "Why?"

"It's just…" His lips twitch into a faint smile and he looks down shyly into his hands. "I…met my dad. When I went crazy and the Nine-Tails took over…he was there to pull me back from the edge."

"He was?" And once again, that's not the direction I was expecting a conversation with him to go right now. Especially since Naruto has been an orphan his whole life, or so I was led to believe. "What happened?"

"…I punched him in the gut."

"…You punched him?" I can't help but raise an eyebrow. Though honestly, at this point, I don't think I should be surprised anymore. "Why?"

"Because he's the one who sealed the Nine-Tails inside of me." And just like that, Naruto's words make all the sense in the world.

"I see." Now that probably should surprise me, but I was made into a jinchuuriki by my uncle, so it's really not that surprising. "So, how are you dealing with the fact that the Fourth Hokage is your father?"

"I'm…okay, actually." His smile grows a little brighter and he looks up at me almost cheerfully. "He said that he sealed the Nine-Tails in me because he believed that I could control its power and use it for good."

"He sealed it in you because he believes in you." I've known Naruto for a long time, and I have to say that those sorts of words are exactly what he needed to hear. As much as I'd like to think that they mean something coming from me, I know that to have them come from a parent is like nothing else in the world. "Then I guess…I'm happy for you, Naruto." Though a wry smile curls my lips. "But I imagine that he had that punch coming for a while now." After everything Naruto went through, it's only fair that he get a good shot in.

Finally, Naruto laughs and falls onto his back in the grass. "Yeah, I guess he did." I slide down into the grass next to him and he rolls over onto his side to face me. "It's weird, though. I guess…after meeting him, I don't feel so mad about having the Nine-Tails inside of me. It's like…it's not a curse anymore. And now people don't hate me for it, so it's…I dunno, it's just kinda weird."

"I know." I suppose I'm feeling the same thing about how our meeting with Nagato went. "It's called closure, Naruto. You found out the reason that you were hurt and hated for all of these years, and you found out that it wasn't inflicted on you out of spite, but out of confidence in your abilities. That changes the entire tone of how you perceive your memories. It doesn't take away the hurt, but it changes the context and casts it all in a new light."

"Yeah, I guess it does." Naruto's smile slowly begins to dim into an expression far more serious. "How's Granny Tsunade doing?"

"Not good, but not badly either." I went to check on her yesterday after taking a day to recover. "She's still in a coma, but he hasn't shown any signs of getting worse. I think her body is just taking a long time to build up enough chakra again for it to function. She used up a lot of it during the attack."

"So we just gotta give her time and let her sleep, right?" Naruto's eyes light up with a spark of hope, just the way they should always be. "Like all those times we've slept for a while after getting exhausted."

"Exactly." At least, I hope it's that simple. It won't help us to jump to the worst possible conclusion right off the bat. "How are the reconstruction efforts coming along?"

"A lot of people are still living in tents and stuff, but Captain Yamato's been great for making whole new buildings." Naruto smile widens with excitement. "And some of the old streets are being mapped out thanks to you. I still can't believe you almost put back the whole village the way it was."

"Well, not the whole village." Not even close, but I get what he's saying. "But I figured that it would be a lot easier than trying to build the village down into a crater." It would have been a disaster if a flood happened. Besides, people are always better with the familiar, and that's what I tried to give them. "There's still all of the trees that need replanting and the grass needs reseeding. Not to mention all of the crop fields that were lost."

"Yeah, I know, but still." He reaches over to pull me into a hug. "You did your best, and it's awesome how much faster the village is recovering because of it."

"Mhm." I smile and nuzzle into his shoulder. "I guess it's a good thing that I got you to come and move in with me. Our old apartments got flattened."

"No kidding, huh?" Naruto lets me go and rolls over onto his back. "I even heard that a bunch of messages got sent out to other villages, asking for help rebuilding."

"I'm guessing that includes the Sand." There''s no way that we wouldn't leverage that friendship in a time of disaster like this.

"Yeah, but I heard that Old Man Tazuna is coming as well." Naruto grins widely. "Remember, from that mission to the Land of Waves?"

"With Zabuza and Haku, yeah." As if I could ever forget THAT mission. "He's going to have a lot of work on his hands, then. If he brings enough of the other villagers, I'm sure that they could go home with quite a bit of money in their pockets." I know that the situation in Wave has improved in recent years, but a nice little injection into their economy could still go a long way, even now.

"I wonder if Inari's gonna come as well, it's been a few years we've seen him." Naruto laughs and rolls up onto his feet. "I bet he's gotten big by now. He was such a little squirt back then."

"Yeah, he was." I press my hands back and lift myself up and over onto my feet. "Come on, I'm sure that there's still plenty to do." As much as I would like to stay at the shrine and trade stories with Naruto, there's still work to be done. "I've got to check in at the hospital, then look over the compilations of intel that Shikaku, Ibiki, and Inoichi got for me." The moment that the village started its recovery, those three went right back to the commission Tsunade and I set them a while ago.

And I should probably send a letter to Sasuke to let him know I'm okay. There's no telling what he might do when he gets wind of what happened here.

* * *

Chakra glows in my palms as I press my hands to a chunin's previously dislocated shoulder. "Does this feel better?"

"Yes, it does, thank you." He rolls his shoulder gingerly and presses his hand to it to massage it a little. "You're really good at this."

I acknowledge his compliment with a smile. "I do my best. Everyone has to do their part to help the village recover, and outside of battle, this is where I'm of the most use."

"That's right." He turns to face me and tilts his head. "You're the girl who was fighting Pain with Naruto, aren't you?"

The comment is a surprise, but I take it in stride. "That's right. He's been my battle partner and sparring partner for years. Whether it's on a mission I've been asked to join or facing down the Akatsuki, I try to be at his side when I can."

"That's amazing…" The chunin's eyes twinkle as he reaches for my hand. "My name is Kaoru, and yours is…Ciara, right?"

"Yes." I keep a smile on my face, despite knowing well where this is going, again. "I am Ciara Shiryugu."

His amber eyes widen and his smile curves just a little more, almost playfully. "So it's true that the Dragon Princess really does work at the hospital. How lucky am I to have her tending to my wounds?"

Oh boy, it sounds like I've gotten yet another nickname in the span of a few short days. "Yes, it's true. I typically work in the trauma ward when I'm not being sent out on missions as a combat medic or traveling across the world to train." It's not as though this is some sort of great secret. "But with all of the hard trauma cases dealt with, I'm working in the general ward to do follow up on short-term and drop-in patients."

"That sounds like a lot of hard work there." His thumb rubs over my knuckles as he smiles downright charmingly. "I don't think that it would hurt for you to take a little break now and then. There are some shops near the outer wall in the neighborhoods that survived the blast. I could show you, if you like."

It's sweet, really, but it's probably best that I head this off gently. "That sounds really nice, but I really shouldn't leave the hospital while there are so many patients. As good as the other medics are, I have the highest reserve of chakra here, so I've got a while longer before I can go home. I can make up for the shortfall where others can't."

His smile falters a little, but remains present nonetheless. "Then how about when you get off tonight? My treat."

"That's sweet, really, but after I get off work here, I have to go home and meet with members of the intel corps for a debriefing regarding some research that we're doing as a joint project." I gently pull my hand away and pat his now healed shoulder. "But thank you for the invitation." I step back and turn for the door, but look back over my shoulder with a smile. "I hope that you don't show up back in here again too soon. I'd hate to see you end up in the emergency ward."

"O-of course." He looks a little disappointed, but I think I've let him down gently enough. So I step out of the tent and turn back down the rows of emergency shelters, letting out a breath the moment I'm out of earshot.

I can't say that this is what I expected to be hearing when I got to working at the temporary hospital, but I suppose that Naruto's fame is spilling over onto the people closest to him. Then again, I suppose that after doing what I did in front of the entire village…stories and nicknames are just going to multiply.

"Hey Ciara, are you done in that wing?" I glance into the nurses' station to see Ino and Sakura going over some books. Sakura smiles at me, despite all of the stress she's been under with Tsunade's coma. "What's the verdict?"

"The last patient in there has been dealt with, so we can send about half of them home and start moving in the next wave of patients." I chuckle softly as I approach the station to look at the newest roster. "Though I kind of wish that the men would stop flirting with me. At least that one only looked like he was three years older than me." I think one of them might even have been in his twenties. Do I really look older than sixteen now?

"They're still flirting with you?" Ino raises a hand to her mouth and snickers. "Look at you getting all popular with the men. I knew when you came back to the village that it would only be a matter of time. You're all grown up now, and everyone can see it." She sidles around the station and stands face to face with me, looking up at me slightly. "And you're even taller than both us now, that's amazing."

"Well, Dad was kinda tall, I guess." Not the tallest, of course, he's easily dwarfed by Jiraiya. But I've been told that I take after him, so maybe it's just because I inherited my height from him.

"So, why do you keep turning them down? It might be good for you to get out and go on a few dates." Ino waves a finger teasingly at me. "You're only young once, you know. And You really should try to have fun every once in a while."

"I know, it's just…" I sigh and shake my head. "There's someone else. And until that's resolved one way or another, dates aren't really something that I want to worry about. As flattering as the flirting is."

"Someone else?" Ino sidles closer to me, watching me curiously. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"It's not…like that Ino." Though it's funny that she thinks it's nearly that simple.

"It's Sasuke, isn't it?" Sakura leans her elbow against the table and leans her cheek into her hand. "Something happened when you got captured and Sasuke rescued you, didn't it?"

Something is a bit of an understatement. "…Yeah, a lot happened." And I'm truly glad that it did. If it hadn't…I would be worried about never seeing Sasuke again. "I think…he trusts me." Which, for Sasuke, is nothing short of a miracle after everything that's happened. "Anyway, let's finish up and then go get Naruto and collect yup everybody. We can all have dinner together tonight." For the first time since before the attack.

Sakura and Ino's faces brighten and I know I've got them hooked. "Alright." Ino grins widely. "But we'd better make sure there's enough for Choji."

I laugh and take up the newest roster that Sakura's put together. "There's always enough for Choji." As if that was ever really in question. Even after contributing some of the stores for rations, I've still got enough food stored away at home to last through a siege. "How's Hinata doing? We released her from urgent care yesterday, didn't we?"

Sakura smiles as she shuffles through a few more documents. "That's right. She's helping out now in the minor trauma section."

"Really, now?" I think that's a much better fit for Hinata than being out in battle. And as much as Sakura is nice to have out in a fight for raw physical power, judging by the way that she's handling all of the managerial matters here in the hospital section, I really think that healing is her calling. "Good, we could use all the help that we can get." Because as the reconstruction and demolition are getting into full swing, we've started to see civilians coming in with work-related injuries as well.

"Yeah. And I'm sorry that we're making you work so hard. I know that you should still be resting, but we're still a bit short-staffed right now." Sakura's smile grows a little painful. "We lost a lot of medical staff when Pain's attack hit the hospital."

Yeah, we lost a lot more than just medical staff when the hospital collapsed. "It's alright, Sakura. It's better than laying around in bed with nothing to do and too much to think about." I like having something to do with my hands. Busy hands help keep my mind just as busy. I wave the roster in my hand and smile. "I'll get started on this next list. Send them to my tent when you're ready."

"Alright. And if you see Naruto, tell him to make sure that he remembers to eat. You know how air-headed he can get about taking care of himself when he gets excited." Sakura sighs and rolls her eyes.

"Will do." After all, it's not like I'm unaccustomed to dealing with the side-effects of Naruto's excitable nature. He flits around from one thing to another trying to be helpful, or charges straight ahead towards one goal. And so often he forgets to take care of himself until his stomach starts growling.

I step out of the nurses' station and into the sunlight. A smile grows on my lips as I feel the warmth of the sun on my skin. My fingers hook around one of the three metal circles connected by tiny strips of black leather around my neck. For as hard as the last few days have been, we are recovering bit by bit. We are beaten but we are not broken.

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

Garuda carries me high into the gold and purple sky as I leave Jugo on the ground to watch Suigetsu and Karin. But the higher I rise, the wider my eyes grow. The entire center of the village is barren, surrounded by a thin ring of destruction, and then another thicker ring of still intact streets and homes and fields. Half of the village that I remember from my childhood is gone.

 _Good riddance. This place can burn for what it did to Itachi._

Back then, Ciara had a small apartment near the middle of the city, right next to the Loser's. But now…I know that she's moved. The question is where.

My vision blues for a moment so I activate my Sharingan and look out across the village to look for the greatest source of chakra. But there's only one problem with that approach. Though it does make it easier when the two of them are shining like a beacon.

The greatest sources of chakra aren't inside the village. "Of course…" As if I should have expected anything less than her living on the holy mountain just outside of the village. _That must be where her family estate is._

"Garuda, fly for that mountaintop." That's where I'm going to find her. Then we can leave this village that clearly can't protect her.

Garuda streaks silently across the sky, giving me all the view I need of the recovering destruction below. It's strange, though. It looks like a blast wave went off here, and yet, the rocky landscape features are still standing. Something doesn't seem quite right, but I'll have answers about what happened soon enough.

Faintly visible chakra sparkles in the dimming sunlight as we approach the mountain. It resembles the barriers that was around the first shrine that Ciara brought us to. _She must have set another one around the mountain to protect it from intruders._ After what happened when we were kids, I understand why she would.

"Approach slowly, Garuda." I don't want to set off any alarms that might be in place. For now, it's best not to be seen.

As we descend slowly through the clouds to the mountain's peak, I look directly below us to see a grand complex of buildings spread out around the large mansion sitting in the center of the crater of the peak. _That must be her house._

There's a commotion over near the lake far behind the house and chakra flares out from the surface of the water. White. Ciara.

I slide over Garuda's side and down towards the house, landing on the perch attached to the windowsill of an open window. I grasp the upper frame of the window and slip inside. I know that she'll fume if I take her and leave all of her supplies behind. And leaving them behind would decrease her usefulness anyway.

This bedroom seems familiar, even though it doesn't look like it's been used in a very long time. I place my hand on a table beside the bed, but there's not even a speck of dust. It's well maintained.

But this room holds no interest, so I slide open the door and step silently into the main hall. Doors line the upper balconies, bedrooms most likely. It's all very…homey. Ciara's chakra is all over this place, and then there's other chakras here, infused into the walls and the floors. It's almost like this place is alive.

My fingers brush against the wall and spark a little. The spark travels along the wall, skirting several doors as it races down the hall. _What was that?_ I brush my fingers along the wall again and another spark races along it, stopping at the door furthest on the left. _No…_

I follow the spark to the end of the row of doors, slide open the door, and step inside. _This is it…_ The room smells of peaches ad her belongings are scattered around the room. Her medical kit sits next to her bed and her crescent moon blades sit holstered next to her kit. And next to those… I pick up two slips of paper holding summoning seals. They're the ones I loaded with shuriken before battling Itachi…the ones that I gave to her before letting her return here. _So she still wears them after all…_

Reaching for the medical kit, I unbuckle it and slip the seals inside, then tuck her armguards with the crescent moon blades into a special holster that she must have added recently. Two more holsters lining the inside stand empty. _Her swords._

Upon further inspection of her room, I spot the swords laying in a pair of racks on the wall. I pick up her medical kit and take the shortswords from the wall. They fit perfectly into the bindings on her bag, adding to the already substantial weight of her pack. _And she actually fights with this thing attached to her waist?_ It must weigh fifty pounds at least.

I heft it over my shoulder and grab the belts that go with it. At least her other bag is easy to pack. I remember when I used to have the habit of keeping my traveling bag in my closet. It was convenient for leaving quickly. I pull enough clothes from her closet to last a week without needing to do laundry, then from the drawers built into the bottom. I do raise an eyebrow when I find red silk hidden inside the drawer. _That's unexpected._ A smirk grows on my lips as I place it into the top of the bag and buckle it up.

As far as I can tell, there's nothing else to pack now. She'll be plenty comfortable staying away from the village for a while and more than armed enough to fight off whatever we might face out there.

I throw the window open and climb out to find Garuda there waiting for me. I jump off the sill and land on his back, then settle the bags where they won't fall off. "Head for the lake." That's where her chakra is shining most brightly. She must be sparring with the Loser.

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

Water runs down my arms and soaks my clothes as the wave Naruto kicks up with his Rasengan crashes down on top of me. Strands of my braid cling to the skin of my back and my shirt clings to my front as I pull myself back up and grin at him. "Nice try, Naruto, but you know that I'm faster than your Rasengan."

"Yeah, I know, but you're still soaking wet!" Naruto snickers loudly. "So I still gotcha!"

"That's not how it works, Naruto!" Sakura laughs from the grass on the edge on the lake. "You've got to actually hit her!"

"She's right, Naruto." I shift back and forth on the unstable surface of the water. "Come at me with your clones. Give me an actual workout."

"No way! This is for fun!" Naruto grins and lunges at me, catching me around the middle as he drags me down into the water and starts tickling me.

I struggle for a moment and try not to laugh underwater and lose my breath. Then I roll my eyes and flicker us both out of the water and land on top of him. I shake my head and start laughing at his antics. "So much for sparring, huh?"

"Hey, it was fun, wasn't it?" It's good to see that shameless grin on Naruto's face, it's been absent for far too long.

I huff and roll off of him and into the grass. "Yeah, it was fun." And it's been a long time since we last had some good fun. "Come on, let's get dried off and head inside." Steam starts to swirl from my skin and clothes as my chakra heats my body from the inside out.

But wind starts to gust around me, unbidden. And as flapping wings beat the air overhead, an arm wraps around my waist and tightens there. _What…?_ I look over my shoulder, not believing that I recognize the grip. But burning there and glaring at Naruto is a pair of ruby red eyes. _Sasuke._

"Sasuke!?" Naruto's eyes widen and he reaches out for us. "You're back?"

"Hn. Hands off, Loser." Sasuke steps back and pulls me with him, jumping high into the air and onto Garuda's back.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see almost a dozen of our friends spilling out of the house at the sound of all the commotion, but their forms grow distant as Sasuke taps Garuda's head and the giant bird takes off into the sky.

Now, I'm not particularly alarmed, I would say more…confused. "Sasuke, what's going on?" And just behind us, I can see my travel pack and my medical kit sitting safely in an indent in Garuda's feathers. "…You planned this."

"I did." He frowns as his hands run along my rapidly cooling skin. "You're soaked."

"Yes…that's what happens when Naruto tackles someone into the water." I huff softly and turn up the heat. Steam billows from my skin as my shivering slowly begins to stop. "…What's going on, Sasuke?"

He blinks, then reaches for his cloak and removes it. His hands work to fasten it around me and bundle me up in it. "Just stay quiet, I'm taking you out of here."

Well, that much was clear the moment he swept me up onto the back of his giant hawk summon. "Yes, but why?"

Sasuke stays silent for a moment as he resettles my bags and pulls me into his lap. "Because I don't trust the Leaf to protect you."

 _Sasuke…_ I should have known. Of course that's why he would come flying in out of nowhere to abduct me. "You heard about the battle with Pain, then."

"I heard enough." His arms tighten around me as the village disappears behind us. "I hope that you collected all of your information on Danzo already."

"I have." Or at least, with the last debriefing just after I got home today, I know that I've collected more than enough to convict him ten times over. But this changes the context entirely if Sasuke is worried about Danzo. After this disaster with Pain, with Tsunade out of commission, I'm sure that it'll bring even more conspirators out of the woodwork. "Are you sure that you're ready for this?"

"Yeah." Sasuke's gaze hardens for a moment, then he looks down at me and it softens again. "After what happened to your family, he'll probably try to kill you again. We're finding him first before he can. He's not taking you next."

 _Oh Sasuke…_ I sigh and raise a hand to cup his cheek. "Okay, then we're in this together." Earlier, Kakashi told me something rather disturbing, that Danzo is both moving to confine Naruto to the village and take the seat of Hokage for himself. He's on the move, which means that we need to be too. "Alright, get me out of here. We cay lay low for a while and I'll send a message to Gaara to let him know that I haven't actually been kidnapped, and that he can tell Naruto to calm down."

Sasuke's grip tightens on me and his gaze grows hard again, with more than a flicker of fire in those ruby depths. "I don't care if the Loser knows or not, so why does it matter?"

I blink, and a thought occurs to me. "…Sasuke, I want you to answer this question truthfully." And even if he doesn't, I'll know. "Are you jealous?"

His silence is deafening, and the fire still flickering in his ruby eyes tells me everything I need to know. _The Uchiha never change…_


	60. A Hard or Tender Heart

**So…I started writing this, and I meant for the first scene to just be fluffy and sweet. Then it kind of…mutated. Also, I wasn't planning on doing this particular moment from Sasuke's POV, or right now. But that also mutated. I meant for this to be a proper transition chapter. That plan mutated too. At first I was sorry, but not so much anymore. Everyone, please enjoy the mutations. I promise that you'll like them.**

 **Actually, you know what, let's add a pinch of rainbow glitter in there just for the cuteness factor.**

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

I run my fingers through her hair as she sleeps. It's been a long journey for all of us, and it's obvious that she's not back up to full strength after whatever it is that she's been doing these last few days. Shortly after leaving the Leaf behind, she fell asleep in my arms on top of Garuda. And that was nearly a day ago. She only woke up once to send a letter off to the Kazekage, and then she immediately fell back asleep.

The shrine from the village that we passed through on the way to the Leaf is serving well as a hiding place to gather our strength. She needs to restore what energy she can. Once she does, we can move out.

Her hair is soft, like silk between my fingers. As a combat medic, I don't know how she has much time to manage it, but I suspect that it has something to do with the chakra that she runs through it. _Beauty and power in every part of her._ It's unnatural, but incredible. And it suits her perfectly.

"Sasuke." Jugo slides open the door to the room I share with her and sets two bowls of rice on a platter on the floor. We figured out a while ago that every shrine is stocked with kitchenware, so as long as we go out to get food to prepare, there's no need to leave a shrine for much else. "You haven't eaten since breakfast when she woke up."

I suppose he's right. There's no point in letting my own strength diminish. "Thanks, Jugo." I leave Ciara for a moment to reach for the bowls and the generous helping of rice and stewed boar. There's definitely enough here to fill the stomach twice over.

The door shuts and Jugo disappears, leaving me to place a bowl by Ciara's nose. As tired as she might be, I'm willing to bet that food will be enough to wake her up. "Ciara, it's time to eat." I pull a pair of chopsticks from the bowl of rice and carefully mix together the sauce and rice for her.

As expected, she starts to stir and her eyes slowly begin to open. "Hm?" She blinks once, twice, then a third time before looking up at me. "Sasuke?" Then her gaze drops to the bowl and she pushes herself upright. "Oh, I didn't realize it was time for dinner. How long was I asleep?"

"It's almost sunset again." I leave her bowl alone and turn to my own, stirring and mixing, then taking a bite. "You've been asleep all day."

"Oh, I'm sorry." She repositions herself and leans back against the wall before picking up the bowl and settling it in her lap. She toys with it for a moment before taking a few healthy bites. "I try not to sleep for so long, but it's just something that I've never been able to help."

"It's fine." She's been more peaceful while asleep lately anyway. And if she can get good sleep without nightmares, then it's fine if she sleeps for a little while longer. "How do you feel?"

"A little sore, but I'll be fine. It's just a few leftover aches from the fighting." She glances at me and shoots me a smile. "You don't have to worry so much, Sasuke. I'm stronger than you think I am, and I can take more punishment than you give me credit for. Besides, isn't that what you want?" Her smile turns into a tease as she puts down her bowl. "A powerful jinchuuriki by your side to make all of your goals into a reality? That is why you abducted me again, right?"

My body moves on its own, my food disappearing from sight as I lean over and grip her chin between my fingers. And before I know it, she's close, her emerald eyes sparkling with amusement and surprise and…and things I haven't seen in a very long time.

Then she opens her mouth again and her warm breath swirls over my lips. "It's funny, you don't look at me quite the same way as my patients did back in the Leaf. Not even yesterday when some of them started flirting with me. The last one even asked me out on a date after work."

My fingers twitch as my grip struggles not to tighten, as I struggle not to let my irritation hurt her. "And? What did you say?"

"What would you do if I said that I did go out on a date with him and let him treat me to dinner?" Her words flare hot and angry inside of me and my eyes burn as the possibility of them being true occurs to me. Then she smirks and snakes a hand up my shoulder. "No need to be scary Sasuke. Though I guess it's a good thing I turned him and all the others down after all, if you're going to glare like that. It's too bad, though, that last one was very charming."

"You'd better have." I release her chin, but my fingers keep reaching out to touch her, settling in her hair where they pull it a little tight. "You belong to me."

"No need to growl, Sasuke." Her fingers trail up from my shoulder to rub at my neck, right where the curse mark used to be. "Roaring is my job. Not that I'm naive enough to think that I could ever stop an Uchiha from marking the territory they've decided to claim."

"You're playing with fire, Ciara." My fingers tug on her hair a little harder, but she doesn't raise a single complaint, not through her voice or her eyes.

No, instead, her eyes dance with those flames. "I'm a dragon, Sasuke. I think you'll find that I love playing with fire."

My skin flares with heat in every place it touches her. My right hand in her hair, my arm pressed to her back, my left hand on her waist and trailing down to her hip. Then my lips as I move again, aching to brand her so that no one else can. So that she won't allow anyone else to even try.

The bowls clink against the floor as her back thumps against the futon. Her hair spills over the bedroll in a waterfall of messy waves and curls, like melted chocolate pooling beneath her. Her emerald eyes slip halfway closed, then the green disappears entirely as everything is consumed in darkness and warmth as I cradle her body close and her arms wrap around my neck.

 _Mine._

* * *

Our bowls sit empty and discarded in the corner of the room and Ciara lays sleeping in her futon, tucked securely under a blanket. I hold her hand in mine and watch the way her fingers easily fit into the spaces between mine.

I can't say that I expected her to tire so quickly, but in hindsight, I'm not surprised. I did manage to have her eat all of her dinner before falling asleep again. But sleep means that she is healing and regaining her power. It's not as though Ive never seen her like this before.

A darkening bruise colors her neck a soft reddish purple under the color of the tan skin. A mark that I left there, one of several dotting her neck. I can still feel the deceptive softness of her body in my hands, even if she had still been wearing almost skintight clothes. She had looked lean when I saw her bathing that day, but I suppose that she's recovered a lot since then and that this new softness is just because of careful treatment. Soft, yet strong. Flexible, pliable, and yet with a hard, sturdy core. _She's a whole book of contradictions._ Or it could be that my perception that day was wrong.

I suppose I won't know just yet. I hate not knowing things. But in this…I think that in this, I can be patient. At least until Danzo is dead and it's safe to hold her, safe to tell her…

 _Maybe one day soon, I'll be able to say it without everything I touch turning to ash and slipping through my fingers._

* * *

Akito's P.O.V.

"Hey, ease up on the pacing, alright?" Hiro puts his hands on my shoulders to stop me in my tracks before I wear a hole into the floor of my bedroom. "She's going to be fine. Sasuke didn't just take her for no reason. He took the time to pack her things before leaving. If he just wanted to use her for his revenge, he wouldn't have gone to all that trouble when he could have just swooped in and flown away with her."

"I know, but now she's out there and we have no idea where or what she's planning on doing." I sigh and press a hand over my eyes. "Knowing those two, I assume that they're planning to carry out Danzo's execution, but with the summit coming up in just a week and a half and all of the parties already on their way there, there's no way to get close to him until it's over."

"Or right in the middle of it." Hiro laughs nervously. "I mean…she does have her moments where she's a little impulsive. Usually we can read her like a book, and that's how she wants it, but you know what she can be like when she wants to race off on her own."

"Yeah, I know." _She had better not be planning on interfering with the summit, she could get herself killed doing that._ The fact that we got her letter by way of the Kazekage worries me for just that reason. If she's planning on hitting at the summit, or sabotaging it somehow, then her friendship with Gaara is her way in.

"And now that the assassination order for Sasuke has been made official, she's in danger too." Not to mention the miniature war council that we ended up having in here the moment that the news got out. to say the least, no one in the room was happy about what had been decided. I half thought that Naruto was going to just storm right out and assassinate Danzo himself. And I'm sure that at least half the room would have volunteered to help him in the battle. The other half would have volunteered to hide the body.

Of course, that's just because we got the story out of Ciara about how Sasuke's team actually screwed up their mission and were attacked by the masked Akatsuki for letting the Eight-Tails' jinchuuriki escape. I suppose that we'll just have to leave it up to Ciara to tell the Cloud Village representatives that their second jinchuuriki is, in fact, still alive.

"Or whoever tries to carry it out is in danger." Hiro smiles wryly. "I don't envy anyone who tries to go through her to get at Sasuke. It's not a great secret how she feels about him."

"Yeah…" I just wish that we could have a little more notice before someone decides to whisk her away. On of these days, she's going to give me a heart attack. "At least we know that she's okay." My fingers press through my shirt at the mark she left on my skin, the crest emblazoned there by powerful fuinjutsu. It can be rather convenient at times like this when we have no idea where she is. If something were terribly wrong with her, we would know. Just like how we knew how hard she was fighting during the battle against Pain. "Well, I guess that just leaves us with one important job to do."

"Take all of our research with Shikaku, Ibiki, and Inoichi and present it to the Jounin Council and Clan Heads to have Danzo declared a traitor to the Leaf and have a warrant signed for his execution?"

"Yeah." Not that Ciara needs it if she's really going to kill Danzo herself. Thanks to that old treaty signed by the First Hokage, Danzo's attack on her clan gives her all of the authority to act all on her own. If she wants Danzo dead, there is no legal countermeasure that can overrule her right to make that happen. "Lady Naomi was an interesting woman, wasn't she?"

"You mean to come up with a treaty like that? Yeah, she'd have to be." Hiro laughs softly and leans his forehead against mine. "Don't worry so much, Akito. We can do this. We just have to keep those two nosy elders from finding out about it, then once we have the Jounin Council and Clan Heads on our side, everything will be okay. Now relax, Akito." He runs his hands up my arms, then wraps his arms around me. "We've got this."

Finally, I breathe out a long, slow breath and smile. "You're right, we can do this. We've got proof from his illegal activities in the Land of Woods, Land of Rain, Land of Rice Paddies, and Land of Fire. Given time, we could probably uncover more, but he's done enough dirty work that even he couldn't erase all of his tracks from the best intelligence-gatherers that the village has to offer.

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

I almost can't believe how well I've slept these last couple of days. But then, I've never slept this close to Sasuke before. Usually Naruto is the one to barge into my room while I'm having a nightmare, or right after a nightmare, or he'll wake me up in the middle of one when we're on the road. But to actually sleep the whole night beside someone who isn't Naruto is…new. And it's definitely different.

It's no effort to reach over to him and brush a lock of hair from his face. _He's let it grow a lot longer…_ It's actually kind of cute the way his bangs fall into his eyes. A bit longer and they could frame his eyes beautifully.

Not that I imagine he cares much about those sorts of things. Effortlessly perfect is how he seemed to so many of the girls in our class. And I suppose, in a way, they were right. Gods help us if he actually decided that it was worth putting effort into more than just getting stronger.

I count it as a small miracle that I manage not to wake him as I get out of bed. The birds chirping outside tells me that it's still early morning, and though I'm not a morning person, it's clear that my sense of time will be off until at least tomorrow. But that's fine. We're no doubt going to be traveling again soon, so my skewed sense of time won't matter much so long as I can stay on my feet and keep running.

My fingers press against the back door leading out to the open hall overlooking the garden. And sitting there waiting for me is Takamaru, Gaara's fastest messenger bird. I slide the door closed behind me and approach Takamaru with a strip of dried meat. "Thank you for bringing his reply so quickly." I hadn't expected it quite so soon, but time is of the essence, and I guess Gaara realized that from the urgency of my letter.

Takamaru snaps up the meat and hops around, turning his back to me so that I can remove the seal on the canister and withdraw the letter within. I've never had a sealed letter go off on me before, and I've only seen the aftereffects on those from the cipher corps who accidentally set them off once in a blue moon. Part of me is rather intrigued to find out just what could cause those sorts of injuries. But I know better than to risk the contents of the letter on that sort of experiment. _Though maybe if I could get my hands on an unused one…_

The moment I crack open the scroll and roll it out to read the contents, a wide smile grows on my face. _Perfect. That'll work great, Gaara._ It's better than the plan I had hoped for. And this way, I'll be able to watch the meeting for subterfuge, in case Danzo or one of the other Kage decide to pull a fast one.

There's the slightest noise of a door sliding open behind me, an almost inaudible footstep, and then an arm curls around my waist. "News?" He must have come right here when he realized that I wasn't asleep anymore.

"From Gaara, yes." I smile softly and roll the letter back up. "He's on his way to the Kage Summit now. If we head to the Land of Iron and leave by tomorrow, we can meet him there and get eyes on Danzo. Apparently he is the one who will be representing the Leaf in the capacity of Hokage." The words grow bitter in my mouth, but at least the way forward is clear. "When we do, I will join Gaara's diplomatic party as a bodyguard and be allowed inside. It's too dangerous for you to go, in case something goes wrong. Danzo has a vendetta out for you, he's declared that you be killed on sight. But me…he couldn't do that without causing a village-wide uproar. I doubt that he's stupid enough to compromise his position like that."

Sasuke's grip tightens around me, which is a surprise since I distinctly remember him not liking being touched. Though I suppose that changes greatly with the person in question. Though few are ever touched so much by him. "I don't like it."

"I know, but it's the best option we've got. I'll only be in there for infiltration. But if something does happen, I'll flare my chakra nice and bright. Karin would be able to pick it up from miles away, and I'm sure that you wouldn't miss it either."

"Hn." He snorts softly into my hair, but I can feel the simmering unease in him. "Are you sure?" Clearly, he doesn't like the idea of me going in there alone. More importantly, he doesn't like the idea of letting me out of his sight for any extended period of time.

"Positive. I'll be transforming into Temari. So unless someone there has ocular or sensory ninjutsu and has met either me or Temari before, no one should be able to tell the difference." And given that my exposure to sensory ninja from other villages is decidedly limited, I doubt that I'll be outed by those means. "Gaara and Kankuro will also be there to watch my back if something does end up revealing my identity. I'll be perfectly safe." Or at least as perfectly safe as a shinobi can ever be.

I can feel him mulling over that information as the pause stretches on, but eventually his grip relaxes. "Alright. Then we'll move out in two hours."

"Just enough time for breakfast, huh?" Or maybe just enough time for the rest of his team to wake up and get themselves functional. I look over my shoulder to see an almost surprising alertness in Sasuke's eyes. I know he's not a morning person either, but I suppose years of living as he has makes one come to alertness as quickly as possible. For to be otherwise is to foolishly court and dance with death.

* * *

I finish packing the futon into my bag. Honestly, I'm sure that my ancestors won't mind me pinching a few blankets considering that the place we're going is said to be quite cold. I've never been in a place where there is reputed to be so much snow, especially not at this time of year. I've been all across the Land of Fire, Wind, Earth, and even into the Land of Water, but the Land of Iron is still uncharted territory to me. Though I suppose that it will be good to know the terrain if I am to be one of Naruto's ANBU one day.

"Here." Sasuke's voice appears above me just as a thin but surprisingly warm black cloak falls over my shoulders. "It will keep your identity a secret." Then he glances at the headband sitting across my forehead. "And take that off, you'll be too easily recognized with that on."

"Alright." There's no point fighting him on it. I'll just put it back on later when we get to the Land of Iron. Once we're there, it should do the opposite and afford me a measure of protection, seeing as it's a meeting between the leader of the five great nations. Besides, at that point, I'll be transforming into Temari, so whatever I'm wearing when we actually get there isn't going to matter.

Though I do understand why he might not want to see it. So I'll respect his wishes for now, but eventually…I will put it back on, because being a strong and respected shinobi of the Leaf is part of my pride, and that's not something that I'm simply going to toss away. As much as I imagine that Sasuke doesn't particularly like that, especially after what happened with Itachi, it's not something that I can or will give up.

 _Itachi…_

I think, after the summit is over and Danzo is dead, that I will go to visit Itachi's grave. It truly hasn't been that long since burying him, but I still long to go back and visit the place where his spirit now rests. And I think that, once Sasuke has had his revenge, that maybe visiting the grave will give him the closure that he needs to put all of the hatred consuming him in the past. He's already done so well in offering affection, more than I could have hoped from him now. So much that it rather surprised me. For as possessive as his actions were, there was still a touch of tenderness in them, proof that there is still something gentle within him, even if it appears very rarely.

But I still fear what he might do when he comes face to face with Danzo. Hatred like Sasuke's is not easy to forget, and despite his good behavior around me, those dark emotions might return in full force when faced with the man who ordered so much death and destruction, especially the deaths of all the people Sasuke loved most. I think that even I will be hard pressed to forgive Danzo, if such a thing is even possible at all. I know that forgiveness is important, but there are still some things that simply cannot be allowed to pass.

"Are you ready to go?" I'd almost forgotten Sasuke hovering over me. It's actually kind of funny. Sasuke used to hate having people hover over him, and I would guess that he still does, but when he's the one doing the hovering, he has no compunctions about it.

"Yeah, I'm ready." I sling my traveling bag on my back, the fasten my medical kit to the belts around my waist. Once my tanto are secured, I drape the cloak over myself and fasten it around my neck. It's likely that I look a little odd under the cloak, but seeing as this mission's first phase is about stealth, I suppose that doesn't really matter much. "Are you?" And unlike Sasuke's question, inquiring about the status of my packing, my question weighs much heavier in its implications.

"I've been ready for this for a long time." The darkness in Sasuke's tone makes my heart sink, even though I expected as much.

"Yes, I imagine that you have." This is certainly something that has been a long time coming, but I can't say that I've been particularly looking forward to this. I know that this is going to hurt the both of us, no matter how this turns out. Because in engaging in this confrontation, no matter how much it needs to happen, it's going to tear open old wounds, and old wounds are the hardest to heal.

I remove my headband and slide it carefully into my medical kit, where I know it will be safe. Then I pull up my hood to cover my head. I stand and face him, letting no sign of hesitation show in my eyes. "Let's go kill ourselves a traitor."


	61. Demands for Justice

**Now, we jump fully into the arc and start things off in the Land of Iron. And for those of you who think that something is going to go wrong… You have successfully applied Murphy's Law. If you have successfully applied Murphy's Law…then I am so damn proud of you little doomsayers.**

 **Also, these chapters are coming out a lot faster as of late (which is impressive when considering that they are generally not small). I guess I just got over the hurdle where I wasn't really sure how things were going to play out, and now I'm into the big stretch where I know what's going down at most major turns, with some wiggle room for the story to surprise me all on its own.**

* * *

"Ugh, man, it's really getting cold out." Well, Suigetsu isn't wrong. Typically, if there is snow everywhere, it needs to be cold so that it doesn't melt.

"Suigetsu, quit your complaining already, of course it's cold here, we're almost in the Land of-" Karin stops in her tracks and lands down in the snow. "Wait, I sense something up ahead."

"You do?" I stop just ahead of her and sink to the ground, my chakra already spreading out ahead of us, fanning out in a searching pattern. "…You're right, there's a lot of them. Security for the summit?"

"Of course." Karin shifts her glasses haughtily. "There's no way that they would leave this place unguarded during such an important meeting."

"Hm…then I wonder what their security is usually like…" The forms ahead don't feel quite like shinobi, and yet…they don't not feel like shinobi either. It's very strange.

Jugo ambles up beside me and looks around as a couple of birds land on his shoulder. "Where are you supposed to meet the Kazekage?"

"Not far from here, I think." I close my eyes and focus, but I know for certain that Gaara isn't directly ahead of us. That still leaves quite a lot of ground to cover. "Though, knowing him, he's more likely to find-" I blink and jump to my feet as a brown eyeball swirls out of tiny particles of sand in the air and stares at me. "…That answers that question."

"Seriously? Again?" Suigetsu steps away from me, clearly uncomfortable around Gaara's Third Eye. "What's with that guy? Can't he just walk up and say hello like a normal person?"

"He wouldn't be Gaara if he did." The eye dissolves before me and the sand swirls around my hand, tugging me slightly towards the east. "Looks like he's going to lead me right to him and Kankuro."

I glance back at Sasuke, who looks like he's having a lot of second thoughts about this. But he merely grits his teeth, his gaze darkening. "Go."

"Alright." I shuffle my traveling pack from my back and hand it to Karin. "I'll see you all soon. I promise."

Then I turn away, refusing to look back. I know that the look on Sasuke's face would make me rethink this plan. But it's the best we've got so far, and I'm not going to screw up just because he's worried about me. As I walk, I reach into my medical kit and withdraw my headband, securing it back in place.

The sand guides me, pulling me along through the trees until sensing Gaara's unique chakra becomes easy. With every step I take towards him, my heart grows a little lighter. It feels as though it has been forever since I last saw him. "Gaara…"

I step into the clearing where he awaits me and come face to face with a warm gaze, despite the cold weather. "Ciara."

My mouth twists into a gleeful smile and I race towards Gaara, not caring about leaving my footprints in the snow. I rush him and throw my arms around him. "It's so good to see you!"

"And it is good to see that you are well." He returns the embrace and it makes my heart soar to see that he's becoming more affectionate, slowly but surely. Talk about being surrounded by men who are either overflowing with emotions or are completely stunted in their emotional growth. _Am I a magnet for the beaten and broken? Who knows…_

"So, Uchiha's been treating you well, then?" Kankuro looks me up and down as I release his brother from my death squeeze.

"Yeah, he has." Very well, in fact. But I'll just chalk my pink cheeks up to it being cold outside. "Alright, so I'm impersonating Temari?"

"That's right." Kankuro pulls a photo out of his pocket and hands it to me. "That's what she was wearing just before we left. It's probably best to use that for accuracy."

"Good to know." Though I have to say that those clothes definitely look more suited to the desert than to this frozen place. But if that's what will get me in to check out Danzo, then beggars can't be choosers. "Alright." With a quick burst of chakra and a puff of smoke, I adorn myself with mesh and shorts, a short-sleeved shirt, a long scarf, boots, a fan upon my back, and Temari's signature spiky blonde hair. "How do I look."

Kankuro deadpans. "Like my older sister."

"Perfect." I smile cheerfully for a moment, before making a more serious, business-like expression. After all, the Temari I know is a woman who takes her job very seriously. "Say the word, and I'll be wherever you need me to be."

"Very well." Gaara looks me up and down. "Are you-"

"Ready, yes." I take a deep breath, then breathe out slowly. "It's time to make a move that should have been made years ago. I am long past ready to carry this out."

"I see." Gaara nods thoughtfully. "And Uchiha?"

"Standing by with the team in case anything goes wrong. If everything goes right, they'll pull back to wait in ambush, and I'll go meet up with them when it's time to spring the trap." So far, the pieces are starting to fall into place. But I'm not naive enough to think that this plan is going to go off without a hitch. There are too many variables right now, though my infiltration is meant to reduce that number significantly, there are still too many ways for this plan to go wrong and for someone to end up hurt, or worse.

Gaara nods, accepting my explanation of the plan. "Then come, they are expecting us."

The corner of my lips turns up slightly as I bow. "Of course, Lord Kazekage." Temari can be awfully formal with her own little brother. It's strange to me, but I suppose a lot of the things that humans do are strange to me, despite growing up among them. Since changing, a lot of my perceptions have shifted, but I'm slowly getting back to where I was in my understanding of others' behavior. I just wish things were simpler sometimes.

I fall into step behind Gaara and my skin stats to grow uncomfortably cold. I would radiate some heat to warm myself with, but that's not an ability Temari possesses. Unfortunate, since she could have used such an ability if she'd been the one who was here instead.

But I am glad that Gaara picked a location far enough away to avoid detection, but close enough that it takes only ten minutes to reach the grand tower that will be serving as the meeting place for the summit.

And on the bridge leading into the tower await three figures. The eldest in the middle is the one I assume to be their leader. He has a certain bearing about him. Wise and knowledgeable, calm and composed, yet utterly deadly if provoked. I doubt that I will be proven wrong.

The moment that Gaara steps within ten feet of them, the elderly man steps forward. "We have been awaiting your arrival, Lord Kazekage. Welcome, I am Mifune, the general in this Land of Iron."

Gaara lowers his scarf from around his face, which had previously protected him against the cold. "I'm very pleased to meet you. I am the Kazekage, Gaara."

Despite the seriousness of the moment and the cordial greetings, Kankuro breaks out in shivers and his teeth start to chatter. "Man, it's cold. The climate here is totally different from the Land of Wind."

An almost wry smile faintly touches Mifune's lips. "We can serve you some hot tea to warm you up. Please, enter."

As Gaara steps forward, I follow close behind him, quickly taking in the scene around us. Even if I am not technically here to fulfill Temari's role, there's no harm in looking after Gaara anyway, even if he's more than strong enough not to need a couple of babysitters.

The relief from the cold air is immediate as we step inside the building. "Ah…that's much better." I can feel the goosebumps along my arms and legs already starting to settle down.

Gaara looks back at me, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "Let's go have some tea, then we can proceed to the meeting room."

"Good idea." I hum softly at the thought of tea. "I wonder if they have any peach-flavored tea…?"

* * *

As it turns out, Mifune did have some sweet peach tea stored away. It's much better than I expected from a land where they would have to import such a thing dried instead of making it fresh. But it settles well in my stomach as I take my place in the gallery above with Kankuro as the meeting down below gets started.

My first impressions of the Kage are scattered to say the least. The Raikage strikes me as stubborn, hot-tempered, and violent. The Tsuchikage as old and prone to complaining and comparing things now to how they were done in 'his day'. The Mizukage is more difficult to read and seems more on the young and inexperienced side, older than Gaara to be certain, but still unsure of herself in some ways, though very sure of herself in others. Gaara, of course, is much wiser than his few years would make him appear. And for someone of only seventeen years old, he has more than earned the confidence of those who respect him.

And then there's him…the man sitting in Tsunade's seat. Oily and slippery, conniving and cruel, but hiding it all behind a falsely wise demeanor. He may have experience, yes, but I believe it is all the wrong kind of experience, born of selfish motivations and a quest for personal power. At least I can't say the same of all of the other Kage in the room. Even the Raikage seems leagues better than Danzo.

"What do you think, Kankuro?" Maybe I should get another read of the situation. Another perspective could be a good one. I keep my voice low, audible only to the puppetmaster standing next to me.

"Well, I don't like the new Hokage." And that as an opening line doesn't surprise me. "Not sure about the Raikage, but the Tsuchikage rubs me the wrong way." He glances at the Mizukage uncertainly. "I don't really have an opinion of her yet."

"Then I guess we watch and wait." I lean against a pillar and fold my arms over my chest. But even as the kage exchange words and the Tsuchikae and Mizukage remain at odd over how to treat Gaara, my focus remains on Danzo Shimura, the genocidal maniac who, now that I have set eyes on him, I fully believe to be capable of orchestrating the murders of my clan and of the Uchiha. Among countless others. This is a man who must be stopped.

No…this is a man whose existence must be removed from this world, lest his darkness corrupt all that it touches.

Though I must admit that the more the Tsuchikage speaks, the more I hate his guts. Losing a jinchuuriki is an 'embarrassment' and that's why other nations aren't alerted or asked for help. They're something that must be recovered covertly or it will be seen as a weakness. He talks about us as though we're somehow possessed of less personhood than ordinary people. Less personhood than ninja animals. Less personhood than even ordinary beasts. It makes my stomach churn.

Surprisingly, though Kankuro is also shaking with anger besides me, he is the one to hold me back from punching that Tsuchikage in his smug, uncaring face. "I know you're pissed, but calm down." He grips my wrist tightly, the wrist attached to my hand that's braced against the gallery's half wall, ready to vault myself over it and land in their midst.

"…Fine." If that's what Kankuro wants, then I'll let Gaara give these idiot Kage an eloquent tongue-lashing.

My opinion of the Mizukage plummets the moment that she says that she refrained from acting on the issue of stolen Tailed Beasts, and how their disappearance isn't cause for alarm. _So…what, Utakata meant nothing to her and her village!?_ The notion of someone leaving him for dead is just…it repulses me.

Control…control…these people seem to think that it is so simple. Danzo doesn't even have the intelligence to acknowledge that Suzaku and I are in perfect harmony, and that there is no need for control when he's listing off the few people who have managed to subjugate Tailed Beasts. _That fool._

But it seems like the Raikage doesn't appreciate hearing his little brother's name come out of Danzo's mouth. Not that I can blame him for that much, I wouldn't really want to hear anything come out of Danzo's mouth at all. But that doesn't mean he needs to throw off that much killer intent into the air, even if all he's targeting is the table.

Still, it seems that no one else in the room reads the direction of the Raikage's strike as it hammers down into the wooden table before him. "Enough of this nonsense!"

The nine other bodyguards in the room spring into action, and only I remain standing back, watching the chaos below as it unfolds. Only for it to then be reined back in when Mifune clears his throat. "This summit is a place of discourse. So please refrain from any more behavior that lacks civility."

One by one, the Kage below call of their guards, and Kankuro jumps back up to sit next to me. Though I do have to note with some morbid amusement that it seems his new puppet is a leftover from a battle that Sakura had quite some time ago. I hadn't expected him to recycle Sasori's body like that, but I suppose he felt that there was no point in wasting a well-constructed puppet.

I raise an eyebrow at him as the discussions continue to grow increasingly agitated below. "So, you took Sasori's body after the battle ended then?"

Kankuro shrugs, seemingly happy to have a distraction from what just went down. "Seemed like a waste to just leave him there, so I took him home and tinkered a bit. I removed all the poison, though. There's no point in using it if it's that dangerous and I don't know his recipe."

"I suppose not." I certainly wouldn't use a poison if I couldn't reliably have a decent store of the antidote on hand. Or if I didn't have the ability to purge it myself from my body.

But as my attention turns back down towards the Kage, I frown. If the Raikage isn't interested in discourse, then what's the point in seeing where everyone's loyalties are? If you have no plans to negotiate with people who share your goals, what is the point in knowing that you share goals at all?

"Are they ever going to stop grandstanding?" I swear, the arguments are just going in circles with the Raikage and Tsuchikage doing most of the finger-pointing, the Mizukage just sitting there like a helpless rabbit, and Gaara uninformed and unable to get a word in edgewise.

Then, one voice cuts through the chaos. "It's probable that the leader of the Akatsuki is Madara Uchiha." …Danzo knows how to shut up an entire room, I'll give him that much. Not that I wasn't already aware of that theory. I've met this "Madara' in person, and I don't know if I'm convinced. Honestly, I would expect Madara to be more…regal, maybe a bit pompous. The masked man that I met was just…irritating.

"Is that true?" Kankuro looks at me with nothing less than shuddering fear. "Is…Madara Uchiha really the leader of the Akatsuki?"

"I don't know." But if I decide to trust my instincts, then… "I don't think that he's the one running around in the mask actively pulling the strings. Whether he has or has had any involvement in manipulating the Akatsuki behind the scenes, I can't say."

"Manipulating the Akatsuki?" Kankuro's fear turns into a frown. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that Naruto was told by a very reliable source, someone who fought the masked man almost seventeen years ago, that the masked man was the one pulling the strings and manipulating the Akatsuki for his own ends. Originally, the Akatsuki were a militia group in the hidden Rain who were fighting to restore peace to their nation. It's a bit of a leap from regional freedom fighters to international terrorists, isn't it?"

I can see the gears turning in Kankuro's head as he settles down and nods. "Yeah…that does seem like a bit of a leap. What else do you know about that?"

"More than I would like…" There are simply some things that cannot be unheard, and Nagato's story is one of them. "The man you see down there masquerading as the Hokage…was partly responsible for that shift."

Kankuro shakes his head disbelievingly. Honestly, I can't blame him. "How do you know that?"

"Because I got the true story right from the lips of Pain himself." And it's a story that I will never forget. "He told Naruto and I everything…not long before he died. From his childhood right up to the rebirth of the Akatsuki and their recent activities. He told us about his hopes, his dreams, and what he hoped to accomplish with all of the power he was amassing."

For a moment, I can see Kankuro searching for the truth in my eyes, even though for now they are his sister's eyes. "Thats…unreal…" Then he shakes his head. "Was Naruto the one who talked the story out?"

"Of course." I don't know if I had a hand in it or not, but I suppose I probably contributed a little. Naruto is the one with the magic tongue, though. "It wasn't a pleasant tale to listen to, but it explained a lot, and I've managed to corroborate some of it through more official channels."

"I can't believe it…" Kankuro hangs his head in despair. "So even after the Akatsuki is defeated…there's still someone else there pulling the strings that we have to take care of."

I agree. "Our fight still isn't done."

"Hey." Kankuro points down towards the floor. "Listen."

"Hm?" I cast my gaze down to Mifune and frown. "What…?"

"The Leaf has the last two remaining jinchuuriki, the ones containing the Nine-Tails and Ten-Tails. I feel that how they are guided will be key." This had better not be going where I think it's going. "I say, why not allow the Hokage to lead the allied shinobi army?"

Abso-fucking-lutely NOT. I take back what I said about Mifune being wise and knowledgeable. If he can't read what a terrible person Danzo is, then he is not deserving of either of those adjectives. Unless he was talking about Tsunade, who's still in a coma, then he is a terrible judge of character.

"What!? Let the Hokage lead the allied shinobi forces!?" Well, at least the Raikage finally spoke up over something that makes sense. "Why the Hokage? This is the man known by the moniker 'The Shinobi of Darkness'! We cannot let him take charge!"

"Then…who else?" Mifune raises a skeptical eyebrow.

"My village has not produced even one single member of the Akatsuki. Such a crucial role must be filled by the most trustworthy!" I should have known that the Raikage would just use it as a stepping stone to prop himself up as a candidate. "It ought to be me!"

Mifune cuts off his tirade. "I cannot agree to that."

"What did you say!?" The Raikage looks like he's going to go on another rampage.

With a single finger, Mifune points to the shattered table top. "I am well aware that a certain amount of intensity and strength is necessary to assemble and lead a force of powerhouses such as these. But someone such as yourself whose acts are ruled by his emotions would probably end up splintering an allied force, just as you did that desk." Mifune withdraws his hand back into his robes. "Of course, I am merely stating my unbiased opinion as a neutral party in these discussions, Lord Raikage."

"This is bad." Kankuro glances at me uncertainly. "At this rate, he's going to end up becoming the leader of the allied forces."

"No, he won't." I'll make sure of that much one way or another. Even if one Kage is too young, another too old, one too hot-tempered, and one too suspicious, Danzo is the worst of all the choices to take charge. He would likely end up betraying his 'allies' ad destroying the other villages so that the Leaf can rule over the ashes of the rest of the world. With himself at the top, of course.

Wind fills the chamber below and one of the Mist ninja appears by his leader's side. "Lord Hokage! Please show us the eye you keep covered under that bandage!" His demand shocks the whole room, but I get a sinking feeling in my gut. "I believe you stole Shisui Uchiha's eye and transplanted it in place of your own!"

 _...What?_

"Shisui Uchiha's?" Gaara's eyes widen and I can tell he's fighting the urge not to look up at me.

"The man who was praised alongside Itachi as the most gifted in the use of visual jutsu?" The Mizukage is quick on the uptake as well.

"Yes, his particular jutsu allowed him to enter the minds of others and make them go through phantom experiences of his own choosing and manipulate them." Ao's voice shimmers with both respect and suspicion. "It was such a top-notch genjutsu that no one ever even caught on to having been manipulated."

The Raikage gets up in alarm. "Hokage! Don't tell me Mifune is-"

My hands shake, white-knuckled against the wall of the gallery. Danzo…he took… The whirlwind in my head barely allows for coherent thought. _…Broke the treaty…broke the treaty…killed the family…stole Shishi's eye…_ It's like everything is stuck on a loop.

"How dare you-" The Raikage's outburst erases the thoughts from my mind immediately and I flicker down to the conference floor to stand in the middle of the five Kage. The Raikage growls and turns his attention onto me. "Stay out of this, Sand Ninja, you have no business-"

"I think you'll find that this is MY business and none of yours." My voice echoes like thunder in the conference room as my gaze falls directly onto Danzo. And for a moment, I silence everyone in the room.

I turn to the Mist ninja and incline my head. "I thank you, Sir. Though the news you have delivered today was not what I wanted to hear, I appreciate that you chose to make it public and reveal it to me. You have my deepest gratitude."

He frowns at me, confused. "…Who are you? You're using a transformation jutsu, aren't you?"

Looks like my time is up, and much sooner than I expected. "Yes, I am." My transformation disappears in a puff of smoke, and a simple snap in front of my throat undoes the clasp holding my cloak around my shoulders. "My apologies to the four gathered Kage for interrupting your meeting, but I am here in pursuit of a wanted criminal guilty of high treason against the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

"A wanted criminal?" The Mizukage blinks at me bemusedly. "Who are you talking about?"

I glance at Gaara and my gaze hardens. "Please."

His fingers don't even twitch as sand come pouring out of his gourd to surge up the walls and over the doors, blanketing every possible exist with sand and preventing escape.

For a moment, I had wondered if he would actually acquiesce to my unreasonable request. But I'm so glad that he did. Now, I can turn my fiery gaze onto Danzo. "The criminal that I speak of, is the one who usurped the seat of the Hokage, Lady Tsunade. The man you, Lord Raikage, called the Shinobi of Darkness. The man whose war crimes and acts of treason span the geography of no less than ten nations and include corruption, political sabotage, attempted assassination, the breaking of critical peace treaties…and genocide."

Danzo watches me with that dark, beady eye of his without faltering. "And we should believe a foolish little girl who declared war on a peace summit of the Five Kage?"

"Peace summit?" With Danzo here, there's no way that I'm going to believe that. But first things first… There is one thing I must do before proceeding to execute him. One last vestige of proof.

Without sign or warning, without even a flinch to give me away, I make a split second decision and execute the fastest flicker of which I am capable, closing the distance between myself and Danzo in less than half the blink of an eye. I may not be as fast as my uncle was, but I doubt anyone will ever achieve what he did with the body flicker. When I come away from him again with just as quick a flicker, blood is spattered across my fingertips and Danzo's bandages.

As my fingers uncurl, a tear drips down my cheek. Then another. And another. And another... _Shisui…_

For in my hand…rests an eye sporting a beautiful, shimmering garnet iris with its ever so slight purple tint and three curved black tomoe.


	62. The Chase is On

**So, here's another chapter that went kind of differently to how I expected it to go. But in a good way! I watched some of the filler episodes in the anime, and it reminded me of some stuff way back in the original series that I'm going to draw a little inspiration from.**

 **I don't know if we'll ever come to a concrete definition of love, and honestly, I don't think that we ever really need to. We all construct our own definitions from aspects both widely known and seldom used. And from that, I think that one of the most important aspects of love is something that Itachi aspired to, but ultimately failed while still alive because of poor execution. And it's something that I think Naruto, as a character, is a strong representation of. Minato as well.**

 **I think…that a huge part of love, whether it is romantic or familial or platonic, is the altruistic desire to make someone happy. And through that interpretation, I actually feel like crying for Naruto, because he is so full of love despite his past that it's both inspiring and heartrending.**

 **What is hatred, if not the absence of love?**

 **Just something for all of you to think about.**

 **No Sasuke's pov this chapter, but next chapter, I promise that we'll get to see his side of things. And we'll get something from the Kages on just how all of that went down.**

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

The three other Kage start in surprise as Danzo's two bodyguards move to attack me, only for Gaara's sand to swallow them up instead. The other bodyguards who drop down to protect their Kage are, however, left unharmed.

The Raikage glares at me, clearly unhappy about being left out of the loop. "What is the meaning of this!? Who do you think you are!?"

I slowly wipe the tears from my face, then school my features into a stern mask. "My name is Ciara Shiryugu. I am a jounin and medical officer from the Hidden Leaf Village, daughter of the late Clan Head Ryouta Shiryugu, and the sole survivor of the genocide ordered eleven years ago by the criminal and traitor known as Danzo Shimura. The man who, two years later, repeated the feat that killed fifty of his men by instead coercing a thirteen year-old boy into slaughtering his own clan by dangling the safety of the world as a whole before his pacifist eyes. And once more, there was only one survivor of that crime." This is perfect, because in front of the leaders of five nations, I can rip everything that Danzo built to pieces and leave him powerless.

Despite his bleeding, Danzo gets to his feet. "Slander and lies! I have done nothing but protect the village and make the decisions that none of the spineless cowards will."

Spineless cowards, hm? "Clearly not." I hold up my hand, closed protectively around Shisui's eye. "To attack a member of my clan, or one sworn to it is high treason. In no way could destroying the village's oldest protectors ever be considered 'protecting' the village. Because of your 'decisions,' I never knew what happened to my uncle. There was never a body for me to find and bury. All Shisui ever left me…" I pull his tanto from its sheath and hold it up so that everyone might see the engravings. "Was this."

Now, I believe that I have the attention of everyone in the room. Mifune gets to his feet behind me, but does not continue to move. "I take it that you plan to use this meeting as a tribunal, now that suspicious circumstances have come to light."

"That wasn't originally the plan, no. But then, I didn't come here knowing that he'd stolen Uncle Shisui's eye." No, I came here knowing a whole lot more than that. "I came here knowing that Danzo Shimura is the man responsible for the widespread slaughter in the Land of Woods eight years ago. Knowing that for the past twenty-five years, he has been in correspondence with Orochimaru, even after he left the village over a decade ago."

"What?" Gaara's eyes widen. Perhaps I should have told him everything, but there was just no time to go over the list of Danzo's crimes.

There's no time to waste now. "I came here knowing that Danzo is one of the powers behind the creation of the Akatsuki. Not that he was the one who personally formed it, but that he turned it from its path as a militia group in the Hidden Rain Village that was due to meet with Hanzo of the Salamander for peace talks. Thanks to Danzo's sabotage, one of the leaders of the Akatsuki was killed, and the original militia was nearly wiped out. The two other leaders of the group survived, and in their quest for power, revenge, and peace through violent means spurred by Danzo, went on to begin collecting jinchuuriki, six of whom are now dead!"

"Six?" The Tsuchikage frowns and strokes his beard. "I thought that there were only two jinchuuriki left."

"…No." Though I suppose the argument could be made for three. "As all of you here can see, Gaara breathes, despite his Tailed Beast being extracted. Naruto and I fought against Pain and survived. And then…" I glance at the Raikage, my eyes shining with determination. "Your brother, Killer Bee, right? He's the one that Sasuke thought he had captured, but actually pulled a fast one and managed to escape. He wasn't there when I was locked up in the Akatsuki's dungeons, and he wasn't among the bodies that Sasuke recovered for me when he and his team spirited me out of there and left the Akatsuki."

"That's…WHAT!?" The Raikage nearly explodes with anger, and then nearly jumps over the desk to get at me. "YOU LIE! SASUKE UCHIHA TOOK MY BABY BROTHER!"

"There's more than one sensory ninja here who I'm sure have been keeping track of the fluctuations in my chakra." I eye the Raikage's blond bodyguard, then the blue-haired man from the Mist with his Byakugan. "Have I lied?"

Silence rings the room as both of the sensory ninja examine me, then relax a fraction. The blond shakes his head and sighs. "Sir, she's not lying."

And the assurance makes me smile. "Lord Raikage…I have not yet had the chance to meet your little brother as I have Yugito. Each jinchuuriki who has died comes now and then to visit me in my dreams. Yugito, Yagura, Roshi, Han, Utakata, and Fuu. And for a very short time, Gaara did as well, immediately after Shukaku was ripped out of him. Though, I suppose that calling them dreams would be mislabeling them." A gross mislabeling. "They come to me in my nightmares. Your brother escaped that fate when he escaped from the battle he had with Sasuke. For that blunder and for helping me to escape, Sasuke and his team were attacked by the Akatsuki."

But now, back to the matter at hand. "But the issue of we jinchuuriki can wait a few minutes." I turn my attention back onto Danzo. "Apart from the bodies of your underlings that mysteriously disappeared, I had no solid proof that you were the one behind my clan's destruction. But with Shisui's eye, I now have proof of your treason. Provision Six in the treaty signed by Hashirama Senju and Naomi Shiryugu states that no political or military bodies of the Village Hidden in the Leaves may threaten, coerce, or blackmail any member of the Shiryugu Clan for any reason whatsoever. Provision Seven states that tampering of any kind with the bloodline traits of any member, ward, or vassal of the clan, as evidenced by the bloodline seal upon their person, in any case save to preserve the health of that person with the permission and supervision of the Clan Head, is considered treason and is punishable by death."

I hold out my hand to reveal Shisui's eye for only a moment, then reach into my medical kit to pull out a small jar of preservative. I let the eye slide into the jar, fasten it tightly, then activate the seal on it before placing it back into my kit. "I highly doubt that you took Shisui's eye out and implanted it into your own head in order to preserve his health. And seeing as you had had my father killed, you certainly did not do it with the permission of the clan head. Which means, regardless of how you plead to the many other crimes that we have gathered evidence of to be presented to the Jounin Council and Clan Heads, this little piece left of my uncle is all that I need to sentence you to death on the spot." And there's the nail in the coffin. "It's over, Danzo Shimura."

It's over, but the old man doesn't look like he's going to just give it up so easily. "Everything that I did, I did for the village."

"Some of it, perhaps. But I fail to see how taking out two of the most powerful clans in the Leaf could be a benefit to the village when they were its protectors. I fail to see what interest you could have in preventing peace talks in a nation not even your own. I fail to see how an attempted assassination of the Third Hokage, testified to by Kakashi Hatake, was in the best interests of the village." At this point, it no longer matter what he says. We have the evidence and testimonies. Some given willingly, others extracted by Ibiki and Inoichi. "And now, you've tried and failed to usurp the seat of Hokage, then use that to control the outcome of this summit. In front of these leaders, you have been exposed. You will NEVER be Hokage. Your vain grasping for power ends today." One way or another, it's over.

I have said my piece and I step back to allow everything I have revealed this day to sink in.

But there's no time for anything to sink in when a giant green bulb blooms from the floor in front of me, and a familiar white face torn in half appears from within it. "Well HELLO THERE!"

"Zetsu…" Chakra builds up in my palm, ready to strike in an instant.

Then a whole swarm of Zetsu bloom right through the sand all over the walls and ceiling. Shit! "Guess what? Sasuke Uchiha has snuck in here to save his little pet. I wonder…where do you think he could be hiding right now? Any guesses!?"

"Shut up!" I lunge for the loudmouthed one and pin him to the floor as my tails swirl out all around me. The last thing I need is him giving away Sasuke's location. I don't know if I've convinced the room of the truth, so to give away his location now could be dangerous.

But he disappears into the floor beneath me, and the air in the room changes suddenly. I look up to where Danzo once was. But now…nothing. "DAMN IT!" He got away!

"Ciara!" I look straight up to see Sasuke hanging from the ceiling. "Where's Danzo?" Looks like my panic was for nothing if he decided to come for me himself instead of sending Jugo or Suigetsu.

I grit my teeth and straighten up. "He just disappeared! That white and black Akatsuki, Zetsu, he showed up in here and caused a diversion."

"Tch." Sasuke clicks his tongue irritably. "Let's go."

"Right." I glance at Gaara apologetically. "Gaara…"

He shakes his head and nods out the door. "Go on, you have a traitor to execute. I'll be fine here."

That lifts an incredible weight off my chest. "Thank you."

Sasuke drops down from the ceiling and lands right in front of me. He pulls me tight to his chest and we disappear from inside the conference room in an instant.

The hunt for Danzo is on.

* * *

Naruto's P.O.V.

I pack up my stuff and get ready to leave. I can't just sit around in this inn any longer. Danzo's out there, which means that Sasuke and Ciara have got to be close by. And then there's that Akatsuki guy…the one with the mask. _He's gotta be after them. The way he talked about Sasuke was just…no. There's no way that Ciara would have gone with Sasuke if he was really like that. Sure, he's got way too much hatred in him, but…_

There's no point in thinking about it. The only way that I'm going to be able to find out for sure is by seeing him face to face. And to do that, I need to get out of here. If the Raikage won't listen to me about Sasuke, then I just have to get to Sasuke before he does.

Ciara… I knew that the story behind all of Itachi's actions was twisted, but if what that guy said really is true… No wonder she's been suffering so much… _No wonder Sasuke is going after Danzo. No wonder she's going with him… If Dad had been alive, then maybe none of that would have happened. Maybe he could have stopped Danzo before he started murdering whole clans in our own village._

When I'm Hokage, no one is ever going to be able to do something like that ever again. It'll be a place where the sorts of things that happened to Ciara and to Sasuke never happen. No more kids are gonna have to trip over the dead bodies of their parents or their siblings, their cousins, or their aunts and uncles.

"Naruto?" Kakashi walks into the room and stares down at me. "…You're going after them, aren't you? Because of what Madara said."

"Yeah." I sling my pack onto my back and get to my feet. "You can't stop me, Kakashi-Sensei."

"I know, and I'm not going to." He steps towards me and puts a hand on my shoulder. "Like you, Sasuke is one of my students. I failed him, but as long as he has a light beside him, there's still hope that he's not as far gone as Madara says. We don't really know how much of what he said was the truth and how much was a lie. So be careful, alright?"

"I know." Despite it all, I smile at my sensei. "Sasuke wouldn't have snatched her like that and taken her stuff with them if he didn't care about her." I remember the way he looked at me, and I gotta say, it's weird to see that on his face. But I guess…it's been a long time since I last looked at him like that, when I was jealous of him over Sakura. "If he cares enough to be jealous over Ciara, then I think that everything is going to be okay. He wouldn't have looked at me like that if he wasn't."

Kakashi snorts softly and lowers his hand. "Yeah, that's my read of this too. No matter how far into the darkness Sasuke falls, the light will follow him and offer him a way back out. You're not doing this alone, Naruto."

"Yeah, I know." I've always wanted to be the one to bring Sasuke home, but…if he'd rather come home holding her hand instead…then I'll be here with open arms. "Come on, Sensei, we need to get moving if we're gonna find them."

"Alright." Kakashi picks up his own pack from where it sites next to the wall. "Yamato is outside. We'll meet with him first, then head out."

"Great." I can see them already. Sasuke's smug smirk and Ciara's bright smile. _I hope you two are happy together. And I hope that if you guys find Danzo first…that you're careful._ I don't want to lose either of them. Honestly, I don't want to lose any of my friends.

Back at Ciara's place, I've long since moved in, and so have Akito and Hiro. Sakura's got her own room just a couple doors down from me, and some days, Tenten and Lee practically live there too. I bet that the only things holding everybody else back is all those expectations from their clans. But we still have sleepovers all the time.

We'll have breakfast together, then head off on missions or go train, and eventually, even if it's not that same say, we'll have dinner all together again. It's like…I think it's like having a family. And I know that Sakura still has some unresolved feelings about Sasuke but…I've already waited this long, and I think she's getting closer to settling them herself. I hope that those feelings stop hurting her soon. I just want her to be happy.

I step out of the inn and into the snow. _It's so cold here. I wonder if Ciara is keeping warm…_

"Naruto!" Wait, that's… I step away from the entrance to the inn and onto the path, only to see a head of bright pink hair racing towards me.

No way… "Sakura!?" I laugh and take a few steps forward to scoop her up in my arms. "What are you doing here?"

"We're here to help you, Doofus." She smacks me on the shoulder so I lower her back down to the ground. But really, she doesn't look angry, only a teensy little bit annoyed. "We know…we know that Sasuke is here with Ciara, and that they're probably going to go after Danzo, so we decided to come and back you up, for whatever you decide to do." She stares at me with that same determined look in her eye. "And if things go badly with Sasuke, then…" Her face falls, and I know how much even the thought of hurting Sasuke hurts her as well.

"Nah, it'll be alright." I gotta have faith in that. "Remember who's with him, he'll be fine. And he's not with the Akatsuki anymore either." The Raikage might not have listened to me, but there's no way he'll be able to get near Sasuke with Ciara around.

"Yeah…" Sakura face falls into a sad smile. "I wonder…if he loves her."

"Maybe…I hope so." I know that I still can't quite imagine what Sasuke went through, but after the Pervy Sage…I know that I understand it at least a little. She's been an incredible support to me, and I know that she can do the same for him if he'll let her. "He did come flying right over the village to come get her, after all."

"Yes, I guess he did." Sakura closes her eyes, then looks up at me. "Though if it were you, I bet you'd come hopping in on a giant toad, right?"

A grin spread across my face. "Of course! And I'd even give you the best spot on Chief Toad's head!"

"Naruto!" This time, when she whacks me, I could swear her cheeks are red.

"Uh…could you two do your violent flirting later?" Kiba rolls his eyes as he strolls up with Akamaru, Lee, and Sai in tow. "We've got a runaway Uchiha and a kidnapped dragon to find, don't we?"

"Yeah, we do." I laugh and swipe a finger under my nose. "Alright, let's go!" I turn and race through the snow, knowing that somewhere ahead, Ciara's probably got her hands full with Sasuke and this revenge streak of his.

"Naruto." _Hey, I know that voice!_ A figure dressed in maroon and cream steps out from behind a building with a gourd on his back and followed by the creepy brother of his.

"Gaara!" It's been so long since I've seen him. Damn, I missed the guy. "What's up? I thought you were at the summit."

"It ended prematurely." He smiles kinda funny and I know that there's definitely something wrong. "You're looking for those two, aren't you?"

Well, no need to ask who he's talking about. "Yeah, we heard that Danzo was going to be here, so we thought that we might be able to find Ciara and Sasuke around here if we looked hard enough."

"Yes, I thought as much." Gaara sighs and looks off towards that giant building they used for the conference. "I brought Ciara into the conference chamber with me, disguised as Temari. It was discovered that Danzo's crimes are more numerous than we believed, so she disturbed the summit, announced several of his crimes in front of the other Kage, and then disappeared in pursuit of Danzo when an Akatsuki interfered with the gathering."

"She…what?" _Holy shit, Ciara…what the hell did you get yourself into this time?_ "Okay, well, do you know where they went?"

"No, they all disappeared too quickly to be tracked. After the first Akatsuki attacked, a second one appeared to those of us who remained and made a great declaration of war." That's…not good. "She and Sasuke disappeared in the confusion with whatever team they brought, presumably to chase after Danzo, who fled when it was clear that the room had turned against him."

"Sounds like you've had a very busy day, Lord Kazekage." Kakashi-Sensei walks up behind me and nods to Gaara. "Is the summit to be reconvened at a later time?"

"It is. Madara Uchiha has declared war on the Five Great Nations, such a meeting cannot be delayed for long." Gaara's eyes narrow softly. "As Danzo will soon be dead, and in the absence of the current Hokage, I nominated you, Kakashi Hatake, to represent the Leaf during the next summit."

"…I see." _Wait…does that mean…?_ Kakashi puts a hand on my head and smiles behind that mask of his. "I will bring the matter up when we return to the village. Right now, we have one pressing matter to see to before we return home."

"Of course." Gaara's focus leaves Kakashi-Sensei and falls right back down on me. "Naruto…I remember the darkness that Sasuke allowed himself to fall into. I fear there are still hints of it there, but…"

"So is she, right?" I smile again, knowing right where he's going with this. "You think there's still hope."

"Yes." Gaara smiles a little as well. "Despite his clear drive for revenge, I believe there is still a light in his heart, one too stubborn to go out."

"Yeah, she really is pretty stubborn." As stubborn as I am, sometimes. "Thanks, Gaara. It was nice to see you, but I gotta go see Sasuke now. I dunno if I'll be able to drag him back to the village or not, but…I at least wanna make sure that he's okay."

"Of course." Gaara turns to head back towards that big tower the Kage were meeting in. "I must return for one last meeting, but I wanted to see you before you left."

The admission tugs a smile out of me. "Yeah, it's nice to see you too, Gaara." _And it'll be nice to see those two as well._

"Alright, form up and get ready to head out." Kakashi-Sensei pats my shoulder and motions in the direction that Sasuke and Ciara went. "We're tracking them down." Finally.


	63. Justice and Vengeance

**After the month from hell (and then homework, a week of snow and catching a cold, and studying for a midterm, and a fit of rage because of a disrespectful guest review that made me want to delete all of my fanfiction out of spite and self-loathing), as promised, I give you Sasuke. Warning: he is not having happy thoughts. As they get closer to Danzo, his thoughts will get a bit darker.**

 **Also, this chapter turned out to be a bit longer than I expected, mostly owing to the fact that battles are long and hard to write. And then I decided to split it in two because I wanted to get an update in before struggling with the second half of the battle and avoid ending up with another eight thousand word chapter.**

 **And pay attention to what Sasuke is thinking, some of it may turn out to be rather prophetic.**

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V

"Karin, have you found him?" Danzo is so close. I can almost smell his blood in the air now. _He won't escape this time. He will pay for what he did the the Uchiha._ The hatred of my clan will rain down on him in a hail of fire and lightning.

Karin huffs a little just behind us as we race through the trees and leave the snow behind us. "Not yet, but the traces of his chakra are still up ahead. We're getting closer."

Not yet isn't what I want to hear. I would ask Ciara if she could find him for us, but then we would have to stop and wait for her to connect her chakra to the earth. We would lose time that we need for chasing him down. And I know that her thermal vision can only see as far as she can.

"Sasuke, what do you want us to do when we find Danzo?" Suigetsu fingers the sword on his back, then the pair at his hip. "You want us to shred him for ya?"

"No." No…I've had time to think while Ciara was off playing nice with the Kage. Revenge for Itachi's life is mine to take. I will be the one to make Danzo suffer for everything he did to my brother and my clan. And a quick death is too good for him. Danzo has to suffer everything that the legacy of the Uchiha has to offer. "Keep watch, but stay back. Don't interfere."

I can feel her gaze on me, settled on my back like a brand against my skin. I resist the urge to glance back over my shoulder and find out what she's thinking. Right now, I don't know if her emotions are showing on her face, or if she's wearing the mask that Itachi always used to. I've seen her do it, seen her face go blank to conceal any trace of what's raging around in her heart. I hate that mask, that calmness when she should be spitting fire.

I want to see the hatred and pain that she must be feeling deep in her heart, I want the truth of it to show on her face. Because Danzo doesn't deserve to see her mercy. He won't see her weakness. I will drag him into the darkness he left Itachi in and slaughter him like the animal he is.

"Suigetsu, Jugo." Her voice cuts into my thoughts, digging into them like a kunai. "Danzo has two subordinates with him. Take care of them while Sasuke and I go after Danzo. Karin, stay back to keep an eye out for approaching chakras, and be on standby in case there are injuries that I'm too busy to deal with."

I glance back sharply at Ciara, my eyes narrowing as they start to burn. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Making a plan for dealing with Danzo." Her emerald eyes shoot me a piercing stare. "If you want to keep your team out of the fight because you feel it's your fight to have, that's fine, but you aren't going in alone."

"And you think you can stop me?" If it was anyone but her, I wouldn't care. "It's my fight, I don't want anyone getting in my way."

Her fingers close around my wrist and my balance is thrown off as she tosses me through the air and slams my back into the trunk of a tree. Her forearm presses across my collarbones and her breath fans across my lips as she draws herself to full height. "First, I'll be more help than hindrance, and second, I could stop you right here. And don't think that I couldn't." Her eyes flash with an angry light, but not the one I want to see. "I've lost too many people to risk leaving it all up to chance. I am going to be there to see Danzo take his last breaths, and then I'm getting you, Suigetsu, Jugo, and Karin out of there. Do you hear me?"

I hear her, but that doesn't mean I agree with her. "I could just leave you here." She would be safer, and then she wouldn't be a liability either. If she's too weak to do what needs to be done, then I have no use for her in this fight.

"And then I would be on my own and could probably find Danzo before you." She shoots back her barb without a moment of hesitation. "Sasuke, remember why you're doing this. Don't let yourself fall back into that darkness so that it can cloud your thoughts and screw up your judgment. I believe that you are stronger than that."

She's wrong. I am strong, but the darkness is what's kept me pushing forward towards this goal, and I won't abandon it now that I'm so close that I can taste it. "Save it."

"Sasuke…" A flash of hurt echoes in her eyes, but she doesn't release me just yet. "…When Danzo is dead, I want you to stop and think about what you really want."

After doesn't matter. All that matters now is that he suffers and dies. "He's the one called the Shinobi of Darkness. That's how he's going to die." I want revenge, and I want Danzo dying at my feet, cursing the day he decided that mass murder was the answer. The day he turned my brother into a monster. "That darkness is the only place to find what I want."

For a moment, I expect the harsh truth to hit her like a physical blow. But instead of stumbling back, she just releases me slowly. Her eyes sparkle with an infuriatingly worried light. "Is it?" She backs away and straightens her arm guards. "You don't have to tell me what you decide, I just want you to take the time to be honest and frank with yourself. That's all."

She sighs softly, her words nothing more than a whisper on the wind. "I think Itachi would be sad if he saw you like this."

Then she turns and her gaze falls on the team. "Let's get moving again, I got a hit on his location. We're heading southeast of here."

"Right." Suigetsu glances at me, hesitates, then moves to follow her. And not just him, but Jugo and Karin as well. When was it that the team I put together started to follow her instead?

…It doesn't matter. What Itachi would have thought of me now doesn't matter. All that matters now is that Danzo dies.

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

I don't like this. The changes in Sasuke's demeanor since the moment he came to retrieve me in the conference tower alarm me in ways I never thought I would be. Or, I suppose, in ways that I hoped I wouldn't. I don't want to be this worried for Sasuke. I don't want there to be a reason for me to be so worried.

I could feel it, ever since Sasuke came to get me in the village. He's sinking into the darkness, and I don't know how to pull him out of it. The fact that he threatened to leave me behind…it makes me worry that he really can't see any light anymore. And I know that he's been having eye troubles. Jugo told me about the glass that Sasuke knocked over four days before he came for me in the village. Sasuke's eyesight has always been perfect, an issue with depth perception is unthinkable.

Unless his new eyes are losing their light, just like Itachi's did. If he's going blind, then that's all the more reason for me to be there when he faces Danzo. I won't let Danzo take what's mine. Not again.

I glance to the redhead by my side and frown slightly. "Karin, are our chakra signatures hidden?" Sasuke's gone and grown quiet again, which means that I'm going to have to call the shots. Of all the times for him to start brooding…this is not the most opportune.

"Yeah, they won't know we're coming." Karin bounds alongside me, but glances back at the official team leader remaining stubbornly silent. Then her gaze finds me and a question burns in her eyes.

"Then we push forward. We need to find him soon, before he has the chance to disappear across the border and into one of the smaller nations." If he does that, then there's a chance that we might never be able to find him even if I enlist the help of the ANBU Black Ops. For now, we can still track him. I don't want to make this ordeal any more difficult than it needs to be.

I bend my knees as I hit the next tree branch and spring forward, tripling my speed in an instant as I drive chakra into the soles of my boots. It's at moments like this that I'm rather glad that I wear close-toed boots. Sandals are not meant to be running through the snow, ever. And even if we've left the snow behind us, there still a slowly warming nip in the air that must be making more than a few toes rather uncomfortable.

And speaking of uncomfortable…I still don't know just what to do about Sasuke. I know that I told him to take some time to be frank with himself, but I do worry that he's going to plunge deeper into this path of self-destruction that he seems to have started falling down while I was out of his reach. Or maybe while he was out of mine.

 _If I kill Danzo instead…then maybe his heart will begin to heal instead of sinking any deeper into that darkness._ I have to keep hoping. I have to keep trying to get him to take my hand of his own free will.

Warmth fills my blood, that wonderful, familiar warmth that has been watching over me for so long. _Be careful, Chick. Holding the power of life and death over another is a toxic power. Your ancestors knew this and used that power sparingly, and only for the good of the world. If you are going to end this human's life, then be sure that you are clear with yourself as to why you are doing it._

 _Yes…_ If only that was done as easily as it is said. I have many reasons for wanting Danzo dead. Not least of which is the fact that if he lives, he will no doubt prove to be a danger to both Sasuke and Naruto. For the sake of their lives, Danzo most definitely has to die. And then there is the wrongs that he visited not only on my family and on Sasuke's, but on the countless other people whose lives ended at his command. The blood of the jinchuuriki coats his hands as well as a perhaps unintended consequence of his treacherous actions.

That's it, then. _He is too dangerous to be allowed to live._ That is the simple truth of the matter. If I let him go, he will either live and go on to wreak more havoc and likely start a coup of his own over the Leaf, or Sasuke will kill him and plunge so deep into that darkness that I don;t know if I'll ever be able to tempt him back out of it.

 _…Very well, Chick. If you are certain of this path, then I will lend you what strength I possess in this crusade to save the innocent lives of those who might suffer under this man's lust for power._

 _Thank you._ Honestly, I don't think that I could ever ask for a better partner. For as powerful as he is, Suzaku is equally wise. For as peaceful as he is, he is equally fierce. And for as kind as he is, he is equally protective, and willing to weather any battle where I might find myself needing his support.

"Hey! Did you hear me!? Danzo's up ahead!" My eyes shoot open as Karin's voice finally penetrates my thoughts.

I glance sharply at her as the trees begin to thin. "You're sure?"

"Yeah, of course I am." She pushes up her glasses and frowns. "What's with you? You went silent for like…ever."

"Sorry, I was…communing." I suppose, technically, I was stuck in my head talking to a giant fiery bird, but communing is such an elegant word, and it sounds less weird than talking to a bird. I'm not Jugo, after all, he's the resident bird-whisperer. "Don't mind it. You all know what to do. Cover the two of us once we reach Danzo."

"Right." Jugo breathes out quietly, his presence steady and firm just behind me. "And then?"

"Secure the perimeter, make sure that he can't pull a fast one and escape from us." The last thing we need now is for Danzo to slip through our fingers.

I glance over my shoulder at Sasuke, whose burning ruby gaze sears a place for itself into my memories. I don't know if he ever hears me anymore. The focus in that gaze is monumental, and yet, so is the promise of death.

My fingers curl around the middle silver ring of the cord hanging around my neck and my eyes slide slowly shut. _Lend me the strength to do what must be done._ Then, I open my eyes and look ahead. "Sasuke." I've done everything that I can for him, set it up so that we have the best odds of success, despite all of the variables that I just can't account for.

Without so much as a sound or a warning, Sasuke leaps down from the trees and towards the bridge just visible through the trees. With a wave of my hand, I drop from the trees behind him and race on ahead, trusting Jugo and Suigetsu to do what they have to.

The dust kicks up under my feet and the leaves rustle around me with startling clarity. Colors fluctuate, blooming and brightening and darkening all around me, throwing everything into sharp relief and contrast. It's so beautiful. And soon, this place will be stained forever with unclean blood.

I catch up to Sasuke and catch his eye just around the corner of one of the pillars of the bridge. "Ready?"

The hard look in his eyes is unmistakable. "Leave this to me."

"Not a chance." I tilt my head away from the sun to keep the glare from reflecting off my headband. "This is what you wanted me for, what you freed me from the Akatsuki in order to get. I'm not running." No matter how much I might want to grab him and the others and fly away.

"Hn." He huffs quietly, but the hard light in his eyes remains. "Do what you want." Sasuke's shoulders line with tension as he steps out from behind the pillar and walk slowly towards the three travelers on the bridge.

With Sasuke decidedly preoccupied, I raise my hand and give the signal to move. Karin immediately appears by my side, worry etched into every feature on her face. "What's going on?"

"I'm about to go in." I place a hand on Shisui's tanto for strength. "Keep watch. I'll decide which underling gets occupied by who."

"Got it." Karin readjusts her glasses and peeks out around the pillar. "Those other two are hanging back."

"Good." Then maybe Danzo's pride will be one of the things that brings him down. I step out from behind the pillar, my mind calm and focused as I round the pillar and set eyes on Danzo. "Here you are."

His single eyes flicks to me, but there's no surge of satisfaction upon seeing the dried blood soaked into his bandages where Shisui's eye once was. "If it isn't another traitor to the Leaf."

He wants to talk, fine. I'm sure that Sasuke will want answers anyway. Danzo is likely planning on killing us both, or killing Sasuke and capturing me so that he can make one of his own underlings into a jinchuuriki. I will never let that happen. "I think you'll find that you're wrong on that count. Not once have I ever betrayed my village. The same, however, can't be said for you."

"You left the village, disobeyed orders from the Hokage, and allied yourself with a rogue ninja." He acts like he has the high ground, like he's so morally, or legally superior to me. It's laughable. He picks at the seals around his arm, large, heavy, metal things that look like they should break the old man's arm off. "How are those not the actions of a traitor?"

"They are the actions of a dragon." A dragon who knows what she has the right to do in the most extreme of circumstances. "I can choose whether or not a leader is worthy of my support or whether I may allow them to tap into the resources my house possesses, including my own skills. I am allowed to decline missions and orders if I find them objectionable. And I am permitted to right wrongs committed against my clan."

My fingers grow cold and a little numb as the words spill out. "In return, I provide protection to the village in times of both peace and crisis." That is what was agreed upon by the First Hokage and Naomi Shiryugu. "Of course, you wouldn't know that. You were never worthy of reading the treaty between the dragons and the village leaders. You just broke it in every way that you could by stealing the bloodline eye of a shinobi sworn to my family, my uncle, orchestrated the murder of the clan by military strike, and now you've tried to use politics to control me." Three offenses, and two of them are punishable by death.

Beside me, Sasuke stills. "…Did he take Itachi's eyes?"

"No." Those are still safely stored away in my medical kit. "He took one of Shisui's. So I ripped it right out of his head and took it back."

Sasuke silently seethes beside me, his emotions boiling over an ice-cold fire. Ad opposite us, Danzo drops the seals heavily to the ground and unwinds the bandages around his arm. Instantly, the icy cold fire inside Sasuke intensifies and I feel like I want to scream or vomit, maybe both.

On Danzo's right arm, I think I'm counting ten implanted Uchiha eyes, all manifesting the Sharingan and looking around like they're connected right to his brain. Now he's just added yet another crime on top of all the others.

Sasuke's voice remains deceptively calm, holding hidden in it promises of incredible pain. "How did you get those eyes in your right arm?"

At this point, I don't think it really matters if he's a grave-robber or not. "Through illegal means. It doesn't matter which if he shouldn't have them at all." I brush my hand against his arm, not resting it there but reminding him that I'm here too. "Keep your head together, don't let him get inside it." That's what this display must be, otherwise he would have kept his trump cards hidden.

Magnolia-pattered irises take a moment to stare at me, before closing in a sigh. "Fine, the answer would only make me angrier, anyway."

It's not quite the revelation I was hoping for, but I'll take it if it helps Sasuke keep a cool head. "Let's just finish our business here and go."

"Hn." Sasuke's eyes open and focus hard on Danzo. "Is it true that Itachi slaughtered the Uchiha Clan…following order you and the other Hidden Leaf elders gave him?"

The non answer of the attack is as much of an answer as a verbal one. Sasuke turns on the balls of his feet, letting his right ram sweep around me as visible purple chakra erupts around us, stopping the physical blow of Danzo's punch cold.

Upon observation of the chakra, it's obviously a set of ribs. And a matching skeletal hand sweeps across the bridge, throwing Danzo away. "The two watching us." Sasuke's grip loosens as he releases me and glances up to the pillars behind Danzo.

I turn my gaze up and reach into my pack for some chakra wire. "I'll be right back." This shouldn't take long. I can sense Suigetsu on the left and Jugo on the right, waiting for me to send them their opponents. My decisions here are going to determine the first tide of the battle. "Be safe."

"Hn." It's not the most reassuring of answers, but I'll take it to mean that he's not going to lay down and let Danzo kill him while I'm busy.

The purple cage of chakra doesn't impede me as I step out of Sasuke's protection. I glance up at the two watching the battle, and despite myself, I can't help the smirk that comes to my lips as they draw their blades in preparation for battle. _Nice try._

I take a single step and disappear completely, a skill that I practiced hard to master. I reappear a hundred feet away, well behind Danzo as Sasuke's skeletal chakra arm swipes at the old man. The moment of distraction in the subordinates is enough, as they hesitate for a moment in attacking me and likely make a split second decision to go for Sasuke instead. That was a mistake.

I pull on the already deployed wires that I shot into the air mid-flicker, catching the black and orange-haired subordinates in tightly laced chakra wire nets. When I feel the resistance of their bodies in the nets, I yank the wires hard. The chakra in my hands prevents the wires from cutting into my fingers and increases the grip I can exert on the hair-thin wires.

By rolling forward and spinning just above the ground, I twist the wires leading to the nets together and free up my left hand to grab a handful of shuriken with. "Are you two really willing to die for a traitor?" I yank the nets once more and run a current of lightning chakra through the wires, shocking them as I pull the nets back to my hand, where they crumple into small squares of wire.

The ginger, Fu, gets up first. It's not surprising, since he seems the physically stronger of the two. "You attacked the sitting Hokage."

"No, I confronted a pretender who was trying to usurp the position." But I'm not here to debate the issue.

Once Torune is up as well, I spring forward and land between them to sweep their legs out from under them. It's a ploy, of course, so it doesn't surprise me in the least when they draw their swords and turn them on me. If one is a Yamanaka and the other an Aburame, as I believe they are, then I think I already know where I'm sending each of them.

Fu charges me first, brandishing his tanto that so resembles the two at my hips. I flash a blade of my own, stopping the strike in its tracks and parrying it off to the side. But on my other side, a purple hand reaches for my arm, just enough to brush into it before I drive the heel of my foot into his temple and send him hurtling towards the stones.

Instantly, the sensation in my arm explodes with a harsh burning, like a poison or a chemical burn at the hospital. It hurts, but not enough to debilitate me, not enough to stop me from growing two tails and wrapping them tightly around the two offending ninja before me. "I suppose that's enough of an answer." In that case, if Jugo and Suigetsu deem it necessary, I will not stop them from killing these two in battle.

"You answer me!" Sasuke's voice calls me back to the matter still awaiting my attention.

I look up at the two and hold up my arm to peruse it. The skin is turning a deep, alarming purple. It spreads for a moment, and a thought occurs to me as the patch begins to burn a little hotter and shrink under the assault of chakra. "Microscopic parasites?" I think Shino mentioned something about those once or twice. Not that most people would remember, Naruto isn't the only one who doesn't pay enough attention to him.

As the toxic parasites are purged from my body, I flick my wrists and bend backwards to kick my legs up and wrap them around Fu's neck. I press my hands to the ground and hurl him away, but not before sending the chakra wire in my right hand after him. If he's got mind tricks, then I'll give him to the one whose mind is a mystery even to me. And somehow, I doubt that parasites like those can infect a body made of water very well. I wrap them up and jolt them both for good measure. There's no tactical reason for me to be giving either Jugo or Suigetsu a fresh and uninjured opponent.

I spin on the balls of my feet and pull the wires through the air, hurling Danzo's subordinates in opposite directions. "Jugo, Suigetsu! Take care of these two!"

"Yeah, yeah! We got it!" Suigetsu plucks Torune out of the air by catching his head in the circular hold near the tip of Zabuza's old sword. "Just hurry up! I don't wanna spend all day here."

"I know, I-" The moment I turn around to reassess the situation with Sasuke and Danzo, the giant purple skeletal hand squeezes around the old man. He disintegrates under the pressure and turns into a rain of blood. Or at least…for a moment, that's what it looks like. But if fighting by Naruto's side has taught me anything, it's that battles like this are never easy and short like that. If they are, it's a trick. Shit…

The wires retract into my grip as I take a step forward. Heat floods thickly into my eyes, sharpening my vision as I glance at the area surrounding Sasuke. There's chakra hanging thickly in the air, but no sign of Danzo still alive. _Something isn't right here…_ There's no way that a man who commands the kind of military power he does and with so many years of battle experience would just let himself be caught like that and killed. As much as I can see how much Sasuke has grown in power, and as much as I want to believe that he's strong enough to protect himself no matter what gets thrown at him…

 _That was much too easy._

"Sasuke." I stride towards him, sheathe the tanto and flick the blades from my armguards and run a lance of chakra along the edge of the crescent moon blades running along my arms. "Something isn't right. There's-" My eyes widen as a shadow appears behind Sasuke. I know the shape of that shadow.

In the instant that Sasuke begins to turn and Danzo thrusts forward with the kunai aimed at Sasuke's neck, I step forward and sparks shoot off the blade on my right arm as the kunai scrapes across it. Without a second thought, I pull my left palm back, fill it with chakra, and slam it forward into the fool's stomach, discharging all of the energy at once to liquefy whatever passes for guts in this man. Blood spurts from his mouth as he goes flying across the bridge and safely away from Sasuke.

"You didn't need to step in." Not that he appreciates my intervention, of course. Purple chakra surges around me as he pulls me back within the confines of that chakra cage of his. "Stay back."

"If there's a tactical reason for it, fine. But you don't need to protect me as though I'm a liability, Sasuke." My eyes slowly turn away from him and up towards a pillar, where Danzo stands seemingly unharmed. _How…? It can't be genjutsu, we would know if it was._ And honestly, I can't think of any genjutsu that could successfully ensnare both me and Sasuke. The only one that might have been powerful enough…is bound to the eye sitting alone in my medical kit.

Sasuke's eyes narrow in confusion. "He survived." Yeah, but the question is how.

"So, that is the Susano'o. The perfect defensive armor of the Uchiha. And with quite the offensive power as well." Danzo's beady eye watches us carefully, his gaze first examining Sasuke, then landing squarely on me for only an instant.

With only a slight shift of his stance, Sasuke gives me a clear view of Danzo from just behind him. A position where he can defend me, but…one that doesn't obstruct my view in the slightest as one of the skeletal arms flies towards Danzo, clenched into a tight fist.

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. _He could have just told me that's what he wanted._ Though I suppose that there's a tactical advantage in the way he implied it instead.

My eyes close for an instant and open again to an acute, telescopic focus as I keep Danzo in my sights. Every leap from one part of the bridge to another in dodging the Susano'o's attacks, every tensing of his muscles, every blink of his many eyes.

 _Blinking?_

I look again at the collection of Sharingan on his arm and a thought occurs to me. I've never seen a power like the one he's using before, this seeming inability to die. But I will be the first to admit that even though I saw a lot of those eyes in my family, I honestly have very little knowledge as to how the most secret of their powers work. I know what I've observed in Sasuke, in Itachi, and even in Kakashi. I know about the chakra drain, the strain on the body, the swelling of the muscles and blood vessels around the eyes. Those things are what I can treat with medical ninjutsu. But if there's a trick that makes Danzo unable to be touched…

Then I'm going to find it. "Hit him with some fire." I have a theory that I want to confirm.

Sasuke glances back at me, his brow furrowed, but nonetheless, he leaps up into the skeleton's head and a drop of blood fall and hits my cheek as black fire erupts all over Danzo's body.

 _Damn it, Sasuke! I meant normal fire! I didn't say to strain your eyes until they bleed!_ Honestly, this is no time for him to be reckless. I know that he wants to kill Danzo, but what's the point if he kills himself in the process?

The chakra around us fades as Sasuke lands beside me, bent down on one knee. _I knew you pushed yourself too hard._ I lean down and gather chakra into my palms and place my hands on either side of his neck, where the carotid artery and jugular vein run opposite one another. "I didn't say burn through half your chakra when we don't even know what's going to kill him." Though, at a glance, it sort of looks like the black flames did it.

"Behind you!" Or not. Karin's warning spurs my hands into action. I turn on a dime and slam my hands against the ground, raising up a wall of earth that I learned from Kakashi. What hits the wall feels like some sort of wind release attack. Honestly, that just makes me angry. What right does Danzo have to wield the element of freedom when he collects people like Sai when they're just children so that he can brainwash and enslave them?

Piece by piece, the wall begins to shatter. Earth release never was my strongest, after all, so I didn't expect something I learned on the fly to hold indefinitely. But it does hold long enough for Sasuke to wipe some blood from his face and prepare a summoning. "Get to a higher position."

"Fine." I can always see wisdom in holding the high ground, especially when so many of my tactics rely on having it. But first, I focus an even larger burst of chakra in my palm and place my hand directly over the crest on Sasuke's back. "But remember this. You are mine, and I won't let him take any of you away from me." I'm not going to lose Sasuke or the rest of Taka. And I'm not going to lose Naruto or anyone else in the village to Danzo and his machinations.

I don't stay to see the look that Sasuke shoots me. Honestly, I just don't want to see the anger and hatred on his face anymore. I want to see him happy, I want to see him smile, I want to hear him laugh again. I want a genuine sense of peace and contentment for him.

A flare of chakra into the chakra rods in my boots propels me up the side of the closest pillar as the wall crumbles.. I twist in mid air and slide backwards up to nearly the top. And from where I land, I have a perfect view of Garuda appearing and letting Sasuke fly on his back.

"For two brothers whose abilities are identical, what your eyes perceive is completely different." Every word that comes out of Danzo's mouth makes me want to vomit. "Admit it, the truth about Itachi isn't important to you at all. Instead, you simply want to destroy everything with your hatred. All you're doing is making the sacrifice of the Uchiha Clan meaningless."

 _And you want to destroy everything that you don't control with your insatiable lust for power. Is it really a sacrifice if you're not the one making it?_ If I didn't need to observe the new few minutes of battle closely, I would close my eyes, cover my ears, take a deep breath, then roar the truth of his hypocrisy and greed into the skies so that all spirits in the land might hear them.

"You…have no right whatsoever to speak about the Uchiha!" Sasuke's expression grows icy cold, promising nothing short of excruciating death as he flies towards Danzo on Garuda.

Wind release would appear to be Danzo's style of choice. Or maybe it's his only style. I certainly haven't seen evidence that his battle skills extend much beyond that and more traditional, non-elemental pursuits.

Sasuke dodges and cuts through the assault of razor sharp wind, and I watch in thermal vision through the clouds of smoke as Sasuke cuts his way through Danzo's defenses and earns a wind shuriken in return, followed by two more. I would be worried about Sasuke handling those sorts of attacks, but it seems that all of the times he's seen me fight have given him a sense about the ins and outs of how wind release works, and how to redirect it.

Though he nearly gives me a heart attack when he charges Danzo and allows himself to be caught by the throat until Garuda flies overhead and releases one of the wind shuriken and he picked up and kept spinning around one of his talons.

When Danzo's arm is severed from his body just as Sasuke bisects him, and I watch the severed limb carefully. And slowly but surely, another of the eyes closes, and the arm disappears entirely, only to reappear still attached to the rest of him on the pillar opposite me. _Is he…warping reality itself?_ I honestly can't think of any other way that he could just erase that sort of damage without clones, substitution, or genjutsu. And we would know if he was using any of those.

Okay, I think I have a few theories on how it's working and what he's using as a sacrifice. What's unclear is how long he can use it. Does it activate solely when his life is in danger? Is it on a constant timer? I assume that there's some sort of timer, otherwise the second Sharingan on his arm wouldn't have closed. Unless that's a completely unrelated issue, which I doubt.

It's time to report my findings to Karin. She can keep an eye on things while I pull Sasuke out of this madness and put Danzo in the ground.

Sasuke's P.O.V.

 _The genjutsu…how did he see through it? I…can't move…_ My body is frozen in place, my sword pointed at Danzo's back. Marks creep along my skin like chains holding me down. Damn it! NO!

"Your genjutsu is a far cry from Itachi's." He has NO right to talk about Itachi like this. To compare us like he knows anything about us. "With his masterful Tsukiyomi, he could freely manipulate time within the dreamscape."

Then, as suddenly as the marks came to freeze me in place, the chains shatter and a flood of familiar chakra pours through my veins. _Ciara?_

"Why did you ever feel it was necessary to save the life of such trash, Itachi?" Danzo reaches for my sword as the bindings break. That's a mistake.

"Because the two of us were the only parts of Itachi's heart that you didn't manage to rip out of him!" Two sword tips jut out of Danzo's abdomen, staining his robes with scarlet blood.

Danzo coughs and struggles to look back over his shoulder where ferocious, slitted emerald eyes glare at him. "Y-you, the jinchuuriki."

"The dragon." She pulls the swords from inside him and drives a kick so hard into his side that she sends him flying across the bridge and into the closest pillar, shattering his body against it.

When he falls into a pile of rubble, those emerald eyes turn on me instead, and slight fangs poke out of her mouth as she presses her hand to my throat. "Sasuke, he's warping reality whenever we deal a deathblow to him. The Sharingan on his arm-"

"Are closing, I know." I saw it before, though I shouldn't be surprised she picked up on it as well. "It's like a genjutsu, but on himself."

"A genjutsu on himself…?" She goes very quiet, but the steady thrum of her chakra pulses through me relentlessly. "Do you know how long the interval between the eyes closing is? I've been trying to figure out what sort of time limit we're working with, if the two are related."

The two are definitely related. I've seen him check his arm twice, once after each of the first two eyes closing. "About a minute, I think."

"A minute, huh…?" Her gaze falls to Danzo down below as his body disappears from the rubble, again. "So what you need is a barrage of deathblows dealt one after another, enough to fill up another eight minutes of battle."

"Yes." And then there will be nothing protecting him from me. "Get Karin out of range."

"Alright." She looks at me again, her eyes so much softer than they should be when there's a battle going on, but still shining with a hard light. "…You're going to do something reckless, aren't you?"

"Hn." It's not her business if I am. Itachi's death gave me new powers, and I will use them to make sure that Danzo joins Itachi in the hell he sent Itachi to.

Those emerald eyes glare at me with that worried look, then she purses her lips and takes a deep breath. The next instant, her lips are on mine and her chakra pours into me in another flood of primal energies. It's warm and soft and curls inside me, deceptively docile when I know how deadly it can be. How deadly she can be.

The stream of chakra lessens when her lips leave mine, but the flow continues for a few moments as I feel her breath on my face. "Promise me that you won't die out there, Sasuke. Itachi saved you because he loves you. And his love for you is still here." She sits back and touches her hand to Itachi's necklace laying against her skin. "Itachi protected us because he loves us. That's what you do when you love someone."

She grows quiet, then opens her mouth as though she's going to say something more, but then decides to stay silent as she gets to her feet and looks down over the edge of the pillar. "I'll gather up Karin, Suigetsu, and Jugo and get them out of range. Then I'll be back to burn Danzo to a crisp." She flees her shoulders, and from them grow a pair of huge wings, scarlet and gold and dripping with almost liquid fire. They flare out wide and catch the wind as she steps off the pillar and takes to the air.

With her chakra running through my veins, I get to my feet. Every part of my body hurts, and reactivating Susano'o makes all of the cells of my body burn with hellfire. But it's fine. Itachi suffered far worse than this. I can endure it in order to make Danzo pay.

The bones come first, then the muscles fibers twirling ad fusing around the skeletal frame. Chakra skin covers the muscle, then a cloth armor. With a little more chakra, I conjure up a bow and arrow to target Danzo as he flies through the air trying to dodge.

But when I release the arrow, instead of letting it pass right through him and kill him, which would waste some of that jutsu he's using, a giant tree sprouts from his arm, diverting the path of the arrow. _How the hell did he do that?_

I fight not to flinch and fall to the ground. _Itachi did this when he was sick and dying…you have no right to complain about this much pain. This is NOTHING compared to the pain Itachi endured. The pain that man caused._

If Danzo had never forced Itachi to slaughter our clan, Itachi might never have gotten sick. And if he had, he could have gotten treatment for it. He didn't have to die the way that he did. But he did, and it's Danzo's fault. HE killed Itachi.

I ready another arrow, but leave just enough time for Danzo to weave those signs that will make him untouchable again before letting it loose. I will make him run out his timer, and then he'll realize what a mistake he made trying to use the power of stolen eyes.

The arrow slips through him, but the damage is done There's four eyes now shut which means there's six minutes left. Six minutes of intense battle and pushing him to the limit. Then I can finally put an end to him.


	64. The Traitor's Downfall

**And here comes the rest of the battle chapter. I was originally going to split the battle in half, then tried to smoosh it all together, then it got so long that I decided that cutting it in half was a good idea after all. I mean, I can hardly expect you guys to wait forever for a 12k word chapter or something. I can hardly wait for a 12k word chapter when someone else is due to update. That's not to say that I don't enjoy 12k word chapters, I just imagine that they're hard to cut off at some point that actually makes sense.**

 **Now, a chapter update before I set off to do a midterm. Fun, fun.**

 **Well, not fun for Danzo. Also, it's...a bit gory. I mean, I was always planning for it to be fairly compliant with canon-level violence, but...yeah.**

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

Blood drips down my cheek and every cell in my body feels like it's on fire. I remember how much it hurt the first time that I used Amaterasu, but I never thought that using the Susano'o would be this painful. Everywhere blood reaches aches fiercely, with no promise of relief.

I cough as pressure builds up in my lungs, only for blood to spatter the ground at my feet. Everything might hurt, but the worst place is my eyes. They burn, the crust of drying blood itches and scratches my irises, and the irritation is making it progressively harder to see.

"Sasuke." A tanned hand touches my chest, pressing to the skin there and glowing with a soft golden light. "You're pushing too hard, too fast. You're burning through too much chakra to sustain yourself for the rest of the fight. Pace yourself." A second hand joins the first as her arms wrap around me. "We need to buy time and whittle down his defenses. You'll kill yourself if you try to do it alone."

"Hn." She should have learned by now not to underestimate me. No matter how much pain I feel, it will not stop me from pushing forward towards my goal.

"Sasuke…you need to conserve your chakra. Using your eyes comes with high risks." It's the same concern she's preaching, as if I don't know the risks already. I saw what happened to Itachi. "Save your strength…and use mine instead."

 _…What?_

"It's what you rescued me for, remember?" The chakra around me grows warm, suffusing every cell in my body before her hands slip away and she steps forward to stand in front of me. "You wanted the power to make Danzo pay for his actions, for the pain that he caused." Her fiery sunburst eyes glance back at me, burning with a heat I've never seen before. "You know what I am, and you know that it means that you and so many others are MINE to protect. Now let me do what I was brought into this life to do. Let me take him on for you, to protect YOU. I have the most chakra, the biggest arsenal, and I've trained myself to be able to sustain intense battle. I will run out his timer, no matter how long it takes."

 _To…protect me?_ Those words echo like a distantly pounding drum in my head. But it's not the words that are familiar, it's the look in her eyes. And at the same time, it's so impossibly foreign… I should say no. I should keep her out of the battle and out of my way.

"Sasuke." She turns to face me fully, her eyes darkening to that deep emerald green that shimmers like light through leaves. "You are not alone. Not anymore." There's blood on her fingers, but she runs them through my hair anyway. "And I will protect the people that I love. Especially you."

There's a frozen feeling inside of me as she steps away and places her foot and the edge of the pillar. There's a faint trace of a bitter smile on her lips as she pushes herself backwards off the pillar and falls, disappearing from my sight.

The world around us, bathed in blinding fire is the second most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

Chakra pulses out in a ring around me the moment that I hit the ground. Pillars of rock shoot out from the walls of the canyon the bridge spans. Half of my plan is thought out in advance, the other half…I'll just have to wing it. There's no telling what other tricks Danzo has up his sleeve, and I'm not going to rule out anything now. If I must adapt to whatever surprises he has in store, then I will.

"Come. See what your treachery has wrought, Jinchuuriki." The misplaced confidence in his tone is off-putting. And I hate the spark in his eye when he looks at me. "You're a failure of a weapon, and the village has no use for a broken tool."

 _A broken tool? Does he truly think that this battle will turn out in his favor just because he wills it?_ I can't decide if he's delusional, insane, or both. Probably both. "I think you'll find that I'm much less broken than I used to be."

"Is that so…?" That withered, conniving voice washes over my nerves, rubbing them raw. There's so much darkness in it, so much need to control, and a willingness, an eagerness to spill blood for his beliefs.

Everything about him is nothing short of terrifying. Is there no depths to which this man will not sink for power?

"Hey Sasuke! We took care of those two…" Suigetsu hops up over the side of the bridge, only to stop short when he sees the mess of the bridge. "What the hell happened here?"

"Stay back, Suigetsu." Sasuke's voice rings out from above, stronger than it was before. "But stay close enough to watch her back."

I snort softly. _Still looking out for me, are you?_ Not that I can blame him, but…it's good. He's still enraged, but he feels less blinded now, if only just. "Watch my every move and don't be in my way." The last thing I want is for any of Taka to get caught in the crossfire. Especially since I feel the moment when Jugo's silent presence joins us back on the bridge.

The more of them there are, the less room I have for maneuvering, but the more combinations I can theorize. There's pros and cons to both, but I don't really have time here to weigh the potential battle options thoroughly.

Not when four razor wind-bladed shuriken come sailing towards me. _Really?_ I pull Shisui's tanto from my hip and catch the first shuriken, taking a fraction of a second to stab the blade through the central hole. The moment that the spinning death blade is headed back towards its master, I pluck the second out of the air and hurl it back, followed by the third and fourth. As they fly back, I flip the tanto over in my hand, letting it circle my wrist once before drawing it across my field of vision and expelling a viciously sharp wind blade from it.

So, how quickly can I run out this timer?

Let's find out.

My feet leave the ground in an instant and silently hit one of the rock spikes just above my head, but only for a fraction of a second. I can feel the wind trying and failing to pull at my clothes as I tilt the tanto and disappear into thin air.

The world flashes past me as I flicker about in a circle and drive the tanto as deeply as I can into Danzo's side just below his ribs, half bisecting him with the blow. A blade of wind spurts out the other side, completing the bisection as his top half begins to fall towards the ground.

Half a second before his torso hits the stones beneath us, he disappears entirely, his presence erasing itself from right in front of me. But it's fine, he's done that before, that means the timer is on and ticking away. My fingers twitch and I make the signs around the tanto gripped in my hand.

My lips grow warm with the chakra blooming in my lungs and racing up my throat. The heat blasts off the top of my mouth and out past my lips, igniting with an invisible spark of chakra arcing between them. A blaze of pure white fire warps and pulses and grows, coalescing in front of my eyes before racing forward in a torrent. The bridge in its entirety is engulfed in the bright flames, so different to the dark, menacing flames I've seen Sasuke produce.

I've practiced since I was a child to produce fire, trained hard to hold my breath for as long as I could, learned to keep the flow steady, but natural in its ebb and flow. And not for a second do I worry that Sasuke and his team might be caught in the fire. Because I would never allow this fire to hurt them, even if they sat in the middle of the inferno.

Those same flames lick up the sides of my boots, engulfing me within the pleasantly warm blaze. Each tongue of white fire coats me with a gentle, feather-light warmth. And within those flames, I can feel something so distinctly alive that it very nearly takes my wavering breath away. It's so strange that in a battle to the death, I feel so utterly alive.

For a whole minute and a half, the white flames pour from the center of my very being. And high above, I can see Sasuke laying in wait, working with no intention to let Danzo leave the fiery abyss that I've created for him.

What does surprise me, though, is the sound of a sword clashing against a kunai within the dying flames. And the moment I take a breath to settle myself, I spot a dark cloak in the middle of the bridge. And against it, hair as white as the disappearing fire. "Suigetsu!"

"It's alright, I've got it!" He swings Zabuza's old blade in a half moon arc, his strength more than a little impressive for how skinny he looks. I would have expected him to run away from the fire, but…it's not touching him at all, as if the flames are nothing mroe than ghosts grasping at his heels.

When the last of the flames die, I have to admit that Danzo, on the other hand, looks a little singed. A smug smirk tugs at my lips. _So, it looks like you're not quite as fireproof as you'd like to be, are you?_

As nice as it is that Danzo isn't fireproof, the sudden trumpeting that shakes the air and nearly shatters my sensitive eardrums is the last thing I expected. So is nearly being sucked right up off the ground.

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

Baku, the dream-devourer. I've only seen it in a scroll that Orochimaru kept hidden in one of his secret libraries. I never had an interest in that summon, I prefer the ones I have.

"Sasuke!" Her voice rings out, almost a shriek in the vacuum-like wind.

Below, a flash of scarlet catches my eye. Two massive wings wrap around the pillar beneath me and its twin on the other side. Fragile looking tails anchor her to the ground, while three others wrap around Karin, Jugo, and Suigetsu and keep them from being sucked in.

 _Hn._ Susano'o anchors me to the top of the pillar and prevents me from being sucked into the void of Baku's stomach immediately. But as dangerous as it would be to be sucked into the belly of that beast, there's a serious flaw in its attack, one that Danzo should have forseen.

Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu.

A puff of air alerts me to another's presence, and a glance over my shoulder confirms it. _Danzo._ If he attacks me from behind…

One breath is all it takes to launch a massive fireball down the Baku's throat, more than enough to stop that hellish vacuum from devouring every one of us. And Danzo… I turn and watch as the right arm of the Susano'o smashes into Danzo's side and shoots him down to the bridge and past Ciara. I hope she enjoys the present.

The Baku disappears behind me, but there's a prick of satisfaction when the glint of a blade flashes through the air, slitting Danzo's throat moments before he disappears again. That is what I wanted to see. She's kept hesitating to vent her anger, so I didn't know if she would really be any use in going for the kill. It looks like I was wrong after all.

She drops my team on their feet and her tails swirl all around her, flicking with arcs of fire. Now that is the glorious sight I wanted to see.

"Agh!" I clap my hand to my mouth as a hacking cough shakes my lungs. Blood spatters across my hand and the pain in my nerves takes out my knees. It drips from my mouth and I leave blood handprints across the hard, cold stone. _Damnit, I thought that she'd…_ Clearly the healing wasn't enough. Or maintaining the Susano'o just caused more damage to replace what was healed. I can't hold it much longer, I can already feel the cloth and skin and skeletal frame of the Susano'o being stripped away from me. I never thought that it would be this exhausting.

But it doesn't matter. Another of Danzo's eyes should be shutting right about now. And I have an idea that should turn the tables on him for good.

I look over the side of the pillar, and despite knowing better, it burns inside to see Danzo get up. The monster should just stay down. "So…when all ten of those eyes on your arm shut, your jutsu will be undone, isn't that right?" Now is my chance, while I can look him in the eyes. _Alright Danzo, let's see how observant you really are._ My eyes throb with the effort, but the chakra drain is minimal. After all, the genjutsu doesn't have to be a strong one. Just…convincing.

"So, you knew about the Izanagi?" No, I didn't, but now I have a name to put to the technique he stole from my clan. He will wish he hadn't as I send him to oblivion.

"As I suspected." It's time to strike again, while I can still maintain just the bare bones of the skeletal frame. His wind blades are ineffective against me. And besides, I know from experience how to turn those aside. For a man with his experience, his attacks will never be on par with a natural master of the wind style.

Speaking of which…

Shuriken race across the bridge, forming spinning saw blades that remind me of when I would throw a giant shuriken across a battlefield. The whistle from the shuriken sounds like the hum of a shrieking storm approaching. And with a spark of blue lightning along the edges of the wind chakra, they slice through Danzo like butter. We've run another fifteen seconds on his clock. That leaves just over three and a half minutes.

I keep my eyes trained on every possible place he could appear, and the moment that he reappears on the other side of the piles of rubble, I use one skeletal hand to flatten him and force another eye shut.

Fiery scarlet tails chase after Danzo as he circles me to try and find a place to strike. One curls around him as he tries to sneak up behind me. I take the chance to draw my chokuto and lace it with Chidori. "Just how many Uchiha did you have to kill to get that right arm of yours!?" Five, at least.

"It was all thanks to Itachi!" No, he MADE Itachi do all of that. And he's going to wish he'd never uttered those words.

The tail tightens, then whips Danzo through the air and slams him into the ground, then a pillar, then its twin, over and over. Blood sprays as she tosses him away. And in her sunburst eyes, set in a bloodstained face, is fury.

I keep track as the next eye closes and as Taka takes a position further down the bridge and out of my range. _We're almost there…_

The moment he appears behind me with wind laced over her kunai, I dig my foot into the ball of my foot and charge him. A single thrust to the abdomen pierces right through him, and not even the pain of the wind blade in my side is enough to take away from this part of the victory. I'm stronger than he is and have two medics with me. And now…he's only got half a minute of invincibility left.

I hate his condescending tone, as if I'm some child that needs chastising. "Such a disappointment. My last two eyes are still open. You've lost. Now, go join Itachi. You need a good lecture." Danzo grimaces as he disappears again, his time almost up.

I pull the kunai from my side and a hacking cough brings up more blood. But I can't die now. Not here. And not without at least bringing him down with me. I just need…a little more time. And there's one person here…that my genjutsu can't work on.

The moment he steps up behind me, I brandish my sword again, despite the lack of strength in my arms. "You're the one who's going to see Itachi." And when he does, Itachi should make sure that this monster's hell is every inch the torture that he deserves.

"Sasuke!" Karin races toward me and places a hand at my back, then uncovers her arm. "Hurry, you need to-"

I bite instantly, knowing that I need to heal my wounds quickly. There's no time left. But I really wish that she wouldn't scream like that…

"You see? Your efforts are fruitless. Even now, you are on the brink of death." Danzo strides toward us, that arrogance only tempered by exhaustion. And in that exhaustion…he's completely forgotten everyone but me. "Stand back girl, or die with him."

"I don't think so." The flicker is so fast that even my eyes couldn't pick it up. And the look of shock and pain on Danzo's face makes the corners of my lips turn up as I release Karin's arm.

There are no more wings, no more tails. Just steeled emerald eyes staring at me from behind Danzo's back. The softness is gone. And so is all of her mercy.

The slick squelching of parting flesh breaks the silence in between Danzo's pained, panting breaths. "B-but how? There's one Sharingan left. You were just-"

"Genjutsu. Not that I could see it anyway." The harsh edge to her voice is new. "My uncle was Shisui of the Body Flicker. I may not be on par with him, but you're a fool if you think I didn't pay homage to him by trying to learn his tricks."

Footsteps echo near the end of the bridge closest to the Land of Iron. If they're reinforcements for Danzo, then they're too late. This battle is over. Suigetsu and Jugo's footsteps approach from the other side of the bridge.

Karin helps me to my feet, but my gaze is transfixed by the sight before me. While Danzo struggles to make hand signs, probably to set off some sort of ANBU suicide trick, Ciara stands there with her chakra overflowing…and with her hand in Danzo's back, clutching his beating heart.

Then her form blurs as my Sharingan fade, and everything is washed is a sea of gray.

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

The moment that my hand slides into Danzo's back to reach for his heart, time seems to grind to a halt. It's warm, as a human body is. Blood swirls around my hand from broken arteries and torn veins, painting my skin with a scarlet hue. And I can feel it. Can I ever feel it…

I can feel the frantic pulsing of the old man's decrepit heart in my hand. Not yet torn from his chest, the muscle pounds violently against my fingers, straining against my grip. And despite the nature of the act, there is nothing in me that wavers for even a moment. This is what it feels like to have someone's life in the palm of your hand. This is what it feels like to have the power of life and death. I don't like it. I don't want it. But I will use it now, and again, if another threat appears.

The words fall from my lips as easily as raindrops from leaves, as though there is another force within me pushing them out. And within those words, I infuse every ounce of authority that I possess. "Danzo Shimura. For your crimes against the Village Hidden in the Leaves and the Land of Fire, I…Myojo no Kaze, the Lady of Tenryuusai, do hereby sentence you…to death."

It's easy, so easy. A mere burst of chakra into the muscles surrounding the heart, and everything holding it in place disintegrates as I pull back my hand and rip the bleeding, beating organ from his chest. His body falls with a dull thud to the ground, all life drained, and whatever he had planned negated. But I look down at his heart in my hand, and it draws…nothing but a grim amusement from me.

I thought it would be blacker than that.

All is numb, including the once vivid sensation of eyes on me. All I can hear now is the pounding of blood in my own ears. All I see is Danzo's weak and bleeding heart in my hand, twitching faintly. All I feel is the weight of his heart, his life, and the blood dripping down my forearm. And the taste of the scent of iron on my tongue, in my nose, wafting from the bloody mess in my palm.

The heart twitches one last time and my fingers move through a will not my own. They squeeze until the heart bursts in my hand, coating my already bloody clothes with even more blood. More blood, more death. But it's over. It's…finally over.

And then the truth of my actions wash over me in a giant wave, threatening to drown me.

 _Chick, you must focus. The battle is over and your comrades are safe. You have protected those that you meant to protect. You have done well…_

 _I know._ I know that it had to be done. And when it came down to Sasuke's life or Danzo's…I just moved. Then, it was as if I was no longer in control of my body, like another force had decided to move my limbs from high above. A puppetmaster, but not one who wished me ill. It felt…familiar.

Still, none of that stops me from feeling as though I'm going to be sick. I can barely stop my knees from shaking.

"Hey, are you alright?" A large, firm hand settles gently on my back. But despite Jugo's best intentions, it's not really helping to ground me at all. There's just…too much swirling about in my head. Too much clenching around my heart.

 _Did I really do well, Dad? Was this the right way to protect them all?_

"Hey! Ciara!" Wait, that's… I look up hazily, my gaze focusing slightly as a head of bright blond hair sprints into sight. Followed by…pink, silver, two heads of black hair, another two of brown, and a dog. Naruto… And by the looks of it, he brought about a third of our age group with him, plus two jounin. _Talk about…bringing in the cavalry._ He's a bit late, though.

Naruto skids to a stop, his eyes wide as he takes in all of the blood spattered across my clothes. "Whoa…what…" Then his gaze drops to the body laying at my feet. "…Did…" He glances up at me searchingly. "Did you do this, or was it Sasuke?" He tilts his head slightly, those sapphire eyes searching out Sasuke next.

"That would be our fearless and demanding leader's girlfriend over here." Suigetsu points his sword at me. "She's the one who ripped out the old bastard's heart."

Naruto glances back at me, clearly stricken by the news. He approaches hesitantly. "Are you…okay?"

"…Not yet." And I don't know how long it's going to take, but… I turn my gaze from Naruto to Kakashi. "The traitor has been eliminated."

"Yes." Kakashi sighs and I could swear that there's sympathy in his eyes. "I'm sure that you'll have to make a report about it when we get back to the village."

"Yeah." But as he mentions the village, my gaze drifts back to Sasuke. And mine is not the only one falling on Sasuke now. I'm sure that his presence hasn't escaped anyone's notice now. "Sasuke?" But something feels wrong. He's standing, but he looks…off, somehow. He looks dazed and unfocused and…

 _No…it can't be._

My thoughts sharpen instantly and I stride across the bridge even faster than Naruto and Sakura. "Sasuke…" I stand right before him and look up into his eyes. There's a haze to the onyx gaze, a familiar haze that I've seen once before. "…Can you see me at all now?"

His ears twitching is my first clue that not all is well. His gaze is steady, but steady in its lack of focus. He's staring just to one side of my face instead of directly into my eyes. So it's true then… "Hn." And the soft, frustrated snort in the place of an answer confirms my fears.

 _Shit. Okay, we need a new plan._ I can't very well ask Sasuke to come back to the village while he's in this state. And knowing him, he would refuse just out of his isolationist notions of self-preservation. Which means that I need to get him somewhere safe, preferably somewhere near a town with a hospital so that he can get treatment.

I raise my hands to his face and his attention focuses more sharply on me. "Okay, then let's get out of here. We'll find somewhere hidden, somewhere safe." He's not ready to go back, so I won't make him.

But when I look over my shoulder to apologize to Naruto, all I find there is a rueful smile. "So, you're running off again, huh?"

Sakura doesn't look too pleased either, but the concern in her expression overrules all other emotions there. "It's still not safe to go back, is it?"

"No." I can't say for sure that it is, and especially not in the condition Sasuke and Taka are in. I need time to tend to the injuries sustained in the battle. Karin did well, but I'd rather not place the entire burden of medical treatment on her. Especially since I doubt there's anything she can do for Sasuke's eyes.

"Don't worry, we got it." Naruto grins, but I can tell how painful it is for him to do it. "You go do what you've gotta do, alright?"

Still, I do my best to smile as well. "Yeah. I'll look after things on my end. Don't you worry." And he makes it a lot easier to say goodbye when he pulls me into a warm, gentle hug. The kind of hug that I've learned to expect form him when he wakes me up after a nightmare. Which, I suppose, is apt. "Thanks for believing in me, Naruto.

"I'll always believe in you, ya know?" As dumb as Naruto can be sometimes, he always says the things that people need to hear when they need to hear it.

After a moment longer, I take a step back and cast my gaze onto Kiba, Lee, and Sai. "We're going to disappear again for a bit. Try not to lose track of us entirely. I'd like to be updated on what's going on back home." Because I don't fancy having to keep all of this shit together on my own.

Sai nods solemnly. "Of course."

I take one more chance to look at Sasuke, who hasn't said a word since Naruto showed up. Maybe he's tired, but…I get the feeling that he's just not emotionally prepared to deal with the blazing sun of emotions that Naruto tends to ignite all around him.

"Hey…Sasuke." Naruto takes a step towards Sasuke, but stops when Sasuke flinches away. "…You know…I think I get it now, why you've been doing this. I get it…and…just…" Honestly, I get why Naruto can't find the words. "Take care of yourself, Sasuke, and take care of her. And let her take care of you too."

Sasuke's unseeing eyes flick in Naruto's direction, but his expression remains blank. "Hn." And…that's more of a reaction out of him than I'd expected. "Mind your own business, Naruto."

"Sasuke…" I barely hold back a sigh. This wasn't the reunion for them that I wanted, but I guess that it will have to do for now. Especially since Sasuke looks like he's barely capable of standing. And I doubt he'll be able to for very much longer. He's got to be exhausted.

"So, are we blowing this taiyaki stand or what?" Suigetsu taps the blunt edge of the sword against his shoulders as he scrutinizes my friends carefully, just in case he needs to be ready for a fight. "Because there's a lot of Leaf ninja here, and I'm fine with just one hanging around."

"Yeah, we're leaving." I turn around and pat Suigetsu on the shoulder as I stride past him. "Just give me a minute to get a running start."

"A running what?" Kiba frowns and jostles around on Akamaru's back as they watch me approach the other end of the bridge. "What the heck are ya talkin' about?"

"You'll see…" I don't stop until I'm very nearly at the other end of the bridge. But I turn on heel as my wings burst from my back and fill the air with a shower of embers. Then I take off running, letting my wings catch the air to take me up into the sky. And I spare a glance and four tails down towards the ground. Four tails to sweep up Suigetsu and Jugo, then Karin and Sasuke.

"Oi! Hey!" Suigetsu squirms within the grasp of my tail, drawing my gaze downward for a moment.

Blue and green eyes are the most vivid as they stare up at me. Despite our impending separation, again, I smile and raises my hand to wave goodbye. I catch sight of their hands waving back, but the sight of their eyes disappears as I soar higher and higher into the sky.

I'll see them again. And that's a promise that I'll see through, even if it kills me.


	65. A Refuge for the Wounded

**Hey girani. To answer your question, that's going to be a solid no. She's got other things to be dealing with apart from meeting Killer Bee. Namely, a cranky (cuddly) and blind Uchiha who asks for the unreasonable and doesn't mind employing certain...methods to get it.**

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

It's been hours now and the sun is nearly set, but we're far enough away to be safe, I hope. I know this place, but I don't know this place. Everything about it is familiar, but I know that I've never been to this temple before. But it draws me in, pulling me down from the sky as if cradling my exhausted body in a warm embrace. The warm embrace of a long extinct volcano on the edge of the Land of Fire, riddled with hot springs and caves and lush forest. It's a small, hidden paradise, perfect for hiding an injured team after a mission.

"Are we there yet?" Suigetsu tugs on one of my tails as I sink towards the ground, losing altitude with every second. "Hey! Are you falling asleep!?"

"We're here." My wings flap slowly, facilitating the descent and holding me aloft as I deposit Jugo and Suigetsu, then Karin, and finally Sasuke. But I make sure to lower him to the ground right between Jugo and Karin, in case something happens to him and his injuries reopen.

Once my quarry are safe, my tails flicker and burn out of existence. And twenty feet above the ground, my wings disappear in a flash of fire. I drop the whole twenty feet and land unsteadily on the pebbled ground. I manage not to stumble, but I feel Jugo's hand on my back nonetheless. "I'm alright, Jugo."

"You don't look alright." He almost moves to pick me up, but I wave him off. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I just need a little time to rest." And maybe take a bath in the hot springs. They might help to restore my energy a little after such a prolonged flight. It doesn't help that we had to fight a battle only minutes before this journey. But I know better than to gripe when Sasuke is in even worse condition than I am. "Let's find some space inside the temple. No one should bother us there."

"Ciara." Karin's voice cracks sharply but quietly across my ears. "We're not alone."

She's right. Descending the steps of the temple is an elderly man clad in black robes embroidered with gold. They look centuries older than he is. _What…is he doing here?_

A pale gray gaze sweeps over us without hostility, but with…caution. "Who comes to approach the resting place of Yami no Enryuu? Any who bring darkness will be expelled from this place."

I narrow my eyes slightly, not liking having an unknown person so close to Sasuke when he's injured. "And who is it that resides here in a place that should long be deserted? Humans abandoned the dragons long ago." If the dusty state of the shrines has been any indication.

He blinks only once, his gaze falling squarely on me. "I am called Hiromasa, I have attended to this temple since I was a boy. May I have your name in return, child?"

Child…such a relative term these days. "Myojo no Kaze. My birth name…is Ciara Shiryugu. We come seeking Lord Enryuu's protection from our enemies. We have fought for our lives today and sustained injuries that must be healed. We need a safe place in which to recover."

The old, crinkled eyes widen, then soften as he bows deeply. "Of course, My Lady. I have been anticipating your arrival since the day your power coursed through the temple."

"Since my power…" _What is he talking about?_

"He means the day that you fought Pain." Sasuke draws my attention away from the priest. "The statue in the shrine glowed that day."

"It…glowed?" I know that I used a lot of power that day, but I didn't think that it would reach so far. _Is that why he showed up only a few days later?_

"Indeed." Hiromasa straightens and holds out a hand towards the doors of the temple. "Come, I will prepare rooms for you and your friends, and I will fetch you medicine and food."

"Thank you." The tension in my shoulders begins to subside slightly. "Your hospitality is appreciated. I will not forget this kindness."

"Thank you, My Lady." Hiromasa gestures inside. "After you."

Finally…a place where we'll be safe. A place where we can heal.

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V.

Opening my eyes is a reflex, something I do to maximize alertness the moment I wake up. But now there's nothing but darkness. I remember when the first of my eyesight started to go. It was months ago…not long after Itachi died. My vision blurred as I reached for a glass, and all I managed to do was knock it over. I could tell that it was getting worse when we confronted Danzo. But after the battle was over, the last of it blurred gray. Now, there's no light that reaches my eyes.

"Your name is Sasuke, isn't it?" It's that old man from before, Hiromasa. But I remain silent. If he knows enough to ask, then he doesn't need me to confirm it for him. "Your teammates are rather worried about you. And Lady Myojo has told me that you've strained your body and lost your eyesight. I cannot do anything for your eyes, but I tended to your wounds last night. You escaped infection, but you've been feverish as your body has tried to heal itself, and your eyes are greatly inflamed."

"Hn." I don't need him to tell me that. I can feel the bandages and ointment against my skin and the dull pounding in my eyes. "Where is she?" The smell of blood is gone as well, and a silk yukata slides against my skin instead of my own clothes.

"Lady Myojo is with two of my apprentices. They are administering care to the hime. It seems that she pushed her mortal body rather too close to its limits." He slides his fingers over my face and closes my eyes, then places a cool cloth over them. "They have been trained in acupuncture and massage and will take her to the hot springs to sap away her stress. She requires a different sort of care than you, but she will be tended to just as carefully."

"Good." At least someone has the sense to be taking care of her. I doubt that she would do it herself until all four of us are well again. "And my team?"

"Miss Karin is with the hime and my apprentices now. The young man, Suigetsu, is in the inner sparring rooms with the third of my apprentices. He grew restless and required a way to clear his mind. Sparring seemed to be the best way to calm him, and he does it under the gaze of Lord Enryuu, a great warrior in his own right."

"Enryuu?" That wasn't a name that I came across in the books that Ciara brought with her. At least, I don't remember ever seeing it in there.

"Yes, Lord Yami no Enryuu, the second eldest of the four brothers whose names are now nearly forgotten, and the most fond of battle. This temple belongs to he who wielded the flames of heaven itself, and placed himself in their shadow." He pulls down the sheet and peels back the yukata to run a hand over my bandaged chest. "His history is written within the walls here, and it is my duty to keep that history safe from unworthy eyes."

 _Unworthy eyes, huh?_ "And Jugo?"

"He should be returning from his hunt soon. We have food here, of course, but he insisted on supplementing the meals with a more substantial option. I directed him to where wild hogs could be found and he disappeared into the forest after them. I imagine that he will be gone a little while longer in search of them."

"Hn." That sounds like Jugo. But he should know not to wander too far. If he disappears, I have no doubt that she'll go tearing out of here after him. Still, he's the one of those three least likely to do that.

And her…

"Also, I would caution you against trying to move for a few days yet. Your body seems to be strong, but it requires rest in order to regain that strength. Lady Myojo warned me that you might be restless, and she stressed that you were not to stand until she was assured that you could do so safely."

Why does that not surprise me? "Where is her medical bag?"

"Here." His old, wizened hand brushes against mine and lays the familiar strap of Ciara's bag against my fingers. "She left it here in case you needed the medicine inside. My herbal remedies have sufficed for now, but it never hurts to be cautious."

"Hn." I know the bag and its organization well, and probably better than she thinks I do. I know where her kunai are kept, which bottles are antidotes, antiseptics, antibiotics, and poisons. I know which scrolls contain food supplies, weapons, and serve as general storage. And I also know where the preservative jars are.

I unhook the top of the bag and reach inside to pull out the heavier of the two jars. I leave the lighter of the two inside. I have no interest in Shisui's eye.

"Do you hope to regain your eyesight with those?" His voice lilts softly, but without judgment.

"Yes." I hadn't thought that the effects of the Mangekyo would strike so quickly, I thought that I would have more time. I hoped…that I would never have to use Itachi's eyes. The thought of stealing his power revolted me, but…now I have no choice.

No, I do have a choice. It's a choice between being free to fight and letting what's left of Itachi rest in peace.

 _…Sorry, Itachi, but I still have things that I need to do._

* * *

My eyes open again and I turn my head towards the sound of quiet footsteps approaching the futon. "Sasuke?" _Ciara…_

I brace myself and sit up as she approaches and kneels beside me. "How long has it been since we arrived?"

"Almost twelve hours. The others went to bed hours ago. Hiromasa stayed here with you until a few hours ago, so I don't expect that he'll be awake again for a while. Everything is quiet." What she means is that everything is safe. "The worst of your injuries have sealed themselves. Karin patching you up while we were out there is what kept you from getting any worse. We expect that, with time, rest, and plenty of food and water, you should recover. It shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks, at most to regain your strength."

"But not my eyesight." That's the one thing that won't recover with time.

She goes very still, very quiet. Then she leans towards me and presses her lips to my forehead. The familiar warming sensation of chakra there helps to ease the slight pounding around my eyes. "But not your eyesight…you're right. I'm sorry, Sasuke. I wish I could do something, but I just…I can heal a lot of injuries, give me almost any type of physical trauma and I can at least stop the bleeding and stitch people up inside, but the eyes are…"

They're something well outside of what she's used to healing. But she's the only medic I trust to do it. "I want you to transplant Itachi's eyes in place of mine."

Her rambling dies in her throat, and the way she looks at me is so tangible that I can feel it. I don't even need to see the incredulity and disbelief to know it's there. "You want me to what?"

"To perform two full eye transplants." I don't like repeating myself, but I need her to know that I'm not going insane. "That's the only thing that can restore my eyesight."

"I know, I read about it in my family's archives, but…" An impatient huff escapes her, it's…almost cute. "Sasuke, I don't know if you've realized this or not, but I attend to the emergency room. I deal with lacerations, abrasions, contusions, internal hemorrhaging, and broken bones. If someone gets hurt in training or on a mission, I've got it covered. I've learned to draw out poison and treat inflammations and infections, and I can even aid in performing an autopsy, but Sasuke…I don't attend to the experienced medics in complicated surgery. Sure, I helped with Lee's back, but even then, my task was basically to be a chakra battery. I've never actually performed that kind of delicate surgery before."

She means that she hasn't performed that sort of delicate surgery on her own where her success determines the future of someone's life. She doesn't need to say it, the insecurity is obvious. But she's also my only option. "So you won't do it?"

The string of curses that she hisses under her breath is impressive. I remember her being a lot more polite than that when we were younger. "Sasuke, it's not that I don't want to help you. But you're crazy if you think that I can do this surgery. I am a TRAUMA surgeon, not an eye specialist. What you're asking for is beyond what I have experience with. If I ask Tsunade about it when she wakes up from her coma, then-"

"No." I am not putting my life in that woman's hands. I don't trust whoever sits in the seat of a kage, they're too easily corrupted. And Tsunade has every reason to want to use it as a means to kill me.

"Sasuke." Ciara sighs exasperatedly. "Tsunade wasn't involved in what happened back then. She wasn't even in the village when any of it happened. She's even the one who repeated blocked motions for you to be added to the bingo book and taken out. You can trust her."

"I trust you." The moment the words leave my mouth, it occurs to me how foreign they are to me.

"…Sasuke…" It sounds like she realizes it too. "I just…I don't want to screw up because of my inexperience. I don't want to risk making things worse than they already are."

Fine, then it looks like I have no choice. "Then I'll send Jugo out to find Kabuto. I'm sure he could be persuaded to perform the surgery."

Now, I know I've hit a nerve. "…That's emotional blackmail, Sasuke." Yes, I know it is. And it's working. "Fine, it's your eyes on the line. I'll use one of the messenger birds here to send a letter back to the village. I'll ask for research materials to be sent here so that I can actually learn what I'm going to be doing before I go poking around in places I shouldn't." I can feel the heat of her glare on me as vividly as I could when I could still see it. "I can't believe that you actually used the state you're in to blackmail me into this." Her fingers come out of nowhere, two of them, and poke me square in the forehead.

Just like Itachi did.

"Hn. I'm less injured than you think I am." Knowing where her hand is now, I snatch it out of the air and pull her off her knees to throw her down onto the futon. She exhales a rough puff of air as her back hits the the thin mattress. I close my fingers around her wrists and hold her down so that I know she has to look me in the eye, even if I can't see it now. "So, what should I have used to convince you to do it?"

Her arms strain against my hands, but there's none of the lethal force to it that I know she's capable of. "Sasuke, this really isn't the time for-"

I don't want to hear it. I've had too many people try to tell me what to do, what I should be doing, and when the appropriate times for things are. So I swallow up her words and will them away. I would rather hear her breathy moan of surprise any day.

Her hair smells like plum blossoms today, but her kiss still tastes like peaches and hints of fire. Her resistance fades and she relaxes beneath me. _Good._

* * *

Ciara's P.O.V.

Slowly, his grip on my wrists loosens and his left hand slides down my forearm, only to leave it behind and wrap around my waist to lessen the distance a fraction more. I raise my free hand and slide the silk of the yukata aside. There, I lay my hand against his neck to feel the strong, steady pulse beneath my fingertips. Then I slide my fingers up into his spiky hair and curl them tightly there.

For a moment, his tongue grows bolder, filling me with the taste of him. But when air becomes a precious commodity, he retreats, albeit slowly. I open my eyes a crack to see a smug smirk on his face. It's obvious what he's thinking. "Sasuke, shut up."

"Hn." That damn smirk of his only darkens in ways I really wish it wouldn't. "I didn't say a thing."

"You didn't need to." Seriously, I wish I could smack that smirk right off his face. "Is this how it's going to be? When you want me to do something unreasonable, you'll blackmail with the threat of letting an asshole get within a hundred miles of you, and if you're bored and sick of resting, you're going to try seducing me into reducing your sentence?"

"So you admit that it's a punishment." The almost impatient, half-teasing accusation has no real venom behind it. That means that he at least understands why I've insisted on him resting.

"Only because I know how it feels to be hospitalized long-term." Do I ever know what it feels like to be hospitalized. Fortunately, I've had no incidents recently that have required it, but I remember the last time I spent a month in there with more detail than I'd like. "I just want you to recover properly. You could have died fighting Danzo." And in fact, he almost did. I know how close that kunai came to piercing his heart, and it's not something that I want to see again.

"And you think that he wouldn't have killed you if he'd gotten the chance?" If Sasuke could see me, I'm sure that he would be glaring a lot harder than this.

I understand his point, I do, but that wasn't something that I was ever really worried about. "I'm a lot harder to kill than that. Or have you forgotten the fact that I have a demon sealed into my stomach that can heal just about anything that happens to me."

Sasuke sighs irritably and lays down beside me, blinded eyes closed. "Why do you never care enough about your own safety?"

Why? Does he really need to ask me that? "Sasuke…" I place my hand on his cheek and roll onto my side to press our foreheads together. "I know that it seems that way, but it's because I value your life over my own."

He's silent for a long moment, then his clouded ony eyes open slowly. "Like Itachi did?"

Well, I suppose that, after everything that happened, that's one knife he has the right to twist. "That's what love is, I guess. I'm not Itachi, some of the things he did…I could never do, would never even have nightmares of doing. But…I want you to be happy. I want you to be alive and healthy and happy. And if that means protecting you myself, then that's what I'll do. Because…" And this, I say from the every corner of my heart. "That's what you do for the people you love. You protect them and wish for their happiness. And if you know a way to make them happy yourself, you do it. That's why I asked you if killing Danzo would make you happy."

"You killed him to make me happy?" His voice goes blank, gently and softly blank.

Honestly, it's much more complicated than that. "In part. Ending his life was my duty by ancient laws and customs, it was an ethical decision taken to protect not just the village but all of the lands touched by his thirst for power, but…I don't know if I could have done it if your life wasn't in danger. Either way…it's over now. He's gone. The village is safe from him, everywhere is safe from him…" Both very important things to me. "And you're still alive."

Sasuke goes so quiet that I can barely even hear him breathe anymore. It's eerie. But despite the tension that I can sense coiled tightly in his body, there's an intoxicating warmth hidden deep inside him, protected by the cold, hardened exterior that seems to crack and break apart in moments like this, the rare times when he seems almost…vulnerable.

His unseeing gaze fixes itself on my face in a way that could almost fool me into thinking that he didn't lose his eyesight after all. "So you'll do it, then?"

I should have known that he was going to attack with this again. "…Yes, I'll do it. I've told you that I've never done it before, that there are risks to it because of my inexperience, but if you insist that I do it because you don't trust anyone else, then I'll do my best to restore your eyesight. I can't promise that it will work, but I can promise that I'll do my best. But for now, you need to rest and regain your strength. I want you healthy again before I do it, I want to minimize what can go wrong. And for that, you need to sleep."

"Hn." Sasuke closes his eyes again and lays an arm over my waist. I hadn't expected him to be so cuddly, but I guess he's more likely to be like this when he's injured and tired. I seem to remember Sakura telling me something like that once about during the Chunin Exams. Still, I probably shouldn't stay here. I don't want to accidentally wake him up when he's supposed to be sleeping and healing.

But the moment that I roll over and try to slip off the futon, his arm tightens around me and pulls me back against his chest. The silk of the yukata brushes against my back, easily conducting the heat emanating from him. "Stay here."

"Sasuke…" I guess it was too much to hope that he's already fallen asleep. "I need to go, you need to sleep."

"So do you." His hand presses against my ribs and holds me here firmly. "He told me that you were out at the hot springs instead of sleeping."

"Sasuke, I'm fine, I can take care of myself." It's not like I don't know that I need to sleep, but I still have things to do before I can crash for a couple of days.

"Hn, like hell you can." His nose presses into my hair and he takes a deep breath of the oils that Hiromasa's apprentices combed into my hair. "You never take care of yourself properly when someone else is injured, so shut up and go to sleep."

I roll my eyes and huff a bit less quietly. "And you can't give me more credit than that, huh?" It figures that Sasuke would say that just when I thought he'd softened up. "…I just don't want to wake you up in the middle of the night." I don't want to subject him to the intensity of my nightmares when Suzaku is too tired to keep them at bay.

There's silence for a moment longer as Sasuke pulls the blanket up and over us. "Just go to sleep. You won't have nightmares tonight."

"…No nightmares…?" That would be nice. That would be…really nice. "Okay." I hope that he's right, I really do. To be able to sleep without nightmares would be a dream come true.


End file.
